


Eye in the Sky

by arjasmo



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Rose Tyler, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Trauma, Pete's World Torchwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:54:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 61,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21626377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arjasmo/pseuds/arjasmo
Summary: Sometimes worlds collide and the people in them have no control. Sometimes others within those worlds try to keep people from being together. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes the worlds just won't have it and let the two find each other again.Sometimes one of the two implants himself into the life of the other and, though she counts on him daily, doesn't know that it's him. Sometimes there are so many misconceptions and missed connections that they don't know that they both want nothing other than to be together.Sometimes one saves the other, and then the other saves right back. Sometimes it works, sometimes... it doesn't.John Smith has a secret identity. He's the Doctor, helping Agent Rose Tyler. He never intended on it being such a big thing. He also hadn't intended on falling for her. Rose Tyler knows she shouldn't go after him, but is drawn to him. Now if they can just get over the secrets, lies, and misunderstandings they may just make this work.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 60
Kudos: 160





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! Why is it that even when I have a story waiting on deck, I just can't find the time to push it through? Well I finally did and here it is. It is also a complete work, well mostly. I just have to put a shine on the end and you can have it. I wanted another adventure, and this one is just that. There is a whole lot happening, so hold on tight!  
> I'll post two chapters tonight so you can get a chunk to work with. I hope you enjoy it!

"Let's go Tyler!" Jake's command rang out in the locker room, "You don't want to miss your first mission."

"Coming!" she replied, pulling the hem of her tactical pants over the laces of her boot. She straightened, running her hands over her uniform. She then grabbed her utility belt and settled it around her waist, snapping the fastener shut. Everything was in place. Finally.

She grabbed her gear bag and headed out the door, falling in step behind the members of her team. Her team. She suppressed the smile that was blooming on her face. This had been such a long time coming. She had grown up here at Torchwood, well as a teenager anyway, but it's hard to be taken seriously when one is the oldest child of the director. She had had to study twice as hard, get twice the good marks, and be twice as quick. But here she was, on her first mission. There were no words to describe the exhilaration. 

Who would have thought that her life would go this direction? She was supposed to be a socialite, the belle of the ball, but that wasn't her. This was. Saving the world was what she wanted to do. No matter who stood in her way.  
OoOoOo

It had started innocently enough as a road trip. The family had been on at the beach and her mother had had to fly back early because of a commitment on her social calendar. Rose was to drive back with her father. Her mother said it would be good for them. They needed to learn to communicate. To a twelve year old Rose it sounded like torture. Hours in the car with her father, who never seemed to stop talking on the phone. It's not like he ignored her, but he was always busy. He had been there for some of the important times in her life, but she still didn't have a lot of memories with him in them. 

Rose had been aware that her father had two jobs, but as clear as one was, the other was not at all. The one she knew about was Vitex, the vitamin drink company. She knew well that she was the heir to the empire and had been groomed as such since childhood. But no one ever talked about the job that pulled him from the house at all hours, the one that made the worry lines in his forehead deep and permanent. 

Her twelve year old brain had considered the story that he was perhaps a spy, but that didn't add up. But at least it made for fun fantasies that maybe one day she could join him in international espionage. It was better to think of that than dwelling on the few hours a week that she saw him. He had been absent most of her life, "away on business." She barely knew him. 

That was what her mum, Jackie had hoped would get better on the long car ride home. Instead, Rose found herself in the front seat of the big black SUV with tinted windows and an impressive array of gadgets, trying to act like she wasn't listening to phone call after phone call. Some were Vitex related, but she could tell the calls that were not. His voice changed for those ones, he took a more commanding tone. 

She sat there, pretending to listening to a game on her headphones, staring at the screen. But in reality, the screen was blank and she was listening. Periodically he would look over at her, but she pretended to be immersed in the game, even making noises that would normally indicate that she was winning or losing. 

They ended up not talking at all. 

A couple hours in, after a Vitex call, followed by fifteen minutes of silence, his phone went off again. He had headphones of his own plugged in and answered it. 

"How is it?" he asked into the microphone attached to his headphones. "Well I'm driving back...What was that? ... How many?.... Do we know what it is?.... I can't I've got my.... Ok, I'm about a half hour out. I'm gonna need security for my... Yeah... Of course... Can we get an Apache?....OK... I'll be there. " He rang off. Rose didn't stop staring at her blank screen, trying to show she wasn't paying attention. 

Pete reached over and shook her leg, and she looked up at him. "Rose, we have to make a... ah... stop. It won't be long, hopefully. But there's one thing."

"What?" she asked, sitting up a little straighter and setting her game face down on her lap. 

"You have to stay in the car. I'll...I'll explain later, but please can you follow that rule?" he looked at her intensely, his eyes holding both question and maybe a little indecision. 

"Sure. But dad I-"she started. She had more questions, a lot more, but her father's phone rang again. This time though, knowing that she was listening, he kept the conversations very short and clipped. 

They drove for awhile on the highway, getting off seemingly in the middle of nowhere. From there they were on a one lane paved road that led to a dirt road, then into what may have been either a unimproved road, or simply a place where grass didn't grow. It was very bumpy and Rose, even though buckled in, had to hold on for dear life. 

Pete's face changed as they got further away from the roads. His worry lines deepened and his mouth morphed into a thin line. She could almost see the gears in his head turning. Rose didn't dare ask any questions. 

They finally made it to a clearing in the waning light of the day. She saw multiple vehicles similar to theirs, as well as a few bigger, military looking ones. All of them were black though, and none of them had any markings. All the vehicles seemed to be facing in around the center of the clearing. Tall lights, that were attached to generators, were high, about five meters up, shining light on the activity. 

A man dressed in heavy tactical gear, including a helmet with goggles over his eyes, arm and leg armor, and what she assumed was chest armor and the biggest gun she had ever seen approached her father's side of the car. When Pete lowered the window, the man shot a look at Rose and back to her father, the gun he held in front of him lowering just out of sight. She couldn't see his eyes, but the square jaw and stern expression frightened her. He was a man on a mission. 

"Director Tyler," he said. 

Pete tried to surreptitiously put his finger to his lips but Rose noticed. The man slid his goggles onto his helmet. Now Rose could see the most intense face she ever had seen. He had a rutted complexion, and very dark, nearly black eyes. His intensity was terrifying. He talked quickly to her dad. Most of it seemed to be in code, but Pete never indicated anything other that understanding. 

Her father turned to her. "Stay in the car. Do not get out for any reason, understand?"

The normally fatherly face, at least the one she knew, was gone. Before her was a man that was not her father, but possibly some sort of soldier. Rose's stomach flipped. "OK" she eked out. 

Pete got out and locked the doors, and as he did another soldier type came up and stood, gun in hand next to her door. The person didn't even make eye contact with her, just stood there. She looked at the person, it was hard to see, but the more she looked the more she thought she recognized a female figure. She marveled at it. This woman was just as armored as the men, just as ready, just as ...vital, and Rose was severely impressed. 

From her seat she watched what she could. Rose had always considered herself pretty tough. Things that sent her friends crying to their mothers she shook off. She had little fear of anything, including animals, heights or fighting for what she thought was right. 

Now watching what she could see, she felt a tingle of excitement. Men and women bustled about, all dressed the same. Some injured people were carried or limped past an Rose wondered what that was all about. What could be going on? She had to know. 

Suddenly there was an ear piercing roar that shook the SUV. Rose clamped her hands over her ears but it did little to help. Whatever that sound was shot through her head, ripped through her body and briefly gripped her heart before letting go, leaving her shaking. Rose recovered quickly and her guard shot her eyes to Rose then away, bringing a hand up to an earpiece in her ear. Then she turned back, yelling, "Stay put!" and ran way towards the noise. 

That was it, she had to know. Rose climbed out of the car, her feet not even making sound in the hubbub. 

She crouched down, hiding in the shadows created by the overhead lights dashing to the cover of another vehicle, then another, getting closer and closer. Now there was one SUV between her and the clearing, and Rose got on her belly and slid under, scooting toward the light on the other side. She didn't have to move much to see it, but she had no idea what "it" was. In the clearing there had to be about thirty agents. They had something under what looked to be an enormous sticky net. Whatever it was was putting up a fierce struggle. It stood, lifting several agents that were trying to hold it down with ropes into the air. It let out another roar then, even louder than the last. Rose clapped her hands over her ears again and screamed along with it both in pain and with the anger it seemed to emanate. 

It only took a few more moments and the beast was under control. It was advanced on quickly by agents with glowing rods that looked to Rose like it may have been a cattle prod like she had seen on TV. But as the people got close, the rods shot out bright objects that struck the beast, causing it to scream out again, then he almost immediately hit the ground with a resounding thump. It hit so hard, Rose felt it in her belly.

She watched in rapt attention as they quickly surrounded it, wrapping the sticky net tighter around it. She shifted a little closer only to have a pair if familiar shoes come into sight right in front of her. Her father's shoes. She rapidly inhaled, then froze. 

There was the voice of the man that had met them at their car. "It looks like we have it, Director. It's the last one. "

They didn't seem to notice her.

"Where is the wreckage?" came her father's voice.

"Just over the ridge. One body is in it, and we were able to take down the other two creatures by the river. This one alluded us though. You can't see it from here, but it killed about ten deer on the other end of the clearing. It was eating one of them when we found it. It was eating them like chicken nuggets, like they had no bones at all. "

"How long will the tranquilizer work?"

Another, smaller set of boots walked up and a feminine voice spoke. "This one is a new prototype, it should be at least 12 hours."

"Can we get it into a shipping container and to the containment unit in Cardiff?"

The woman answered,"Easily sir."

"Good, I want it out of here as fast as possible. Are the others-"

"They are ready for transport," said the male voice. 

"OK, call in helicopters as needed. I want this site sterilized and the vessel en-route to London before sunup."

"Yes sir," they said in unison. 

Both pairs of boots left, but Pete's feet stayed. They didn't move, as if still watching the scene. Then they shifted sideways and she could tell his knees were bending. "You can come out now, Rose," he said, his tone softer than it had been just moments ago. 

Rose sheepishly climbed out, dusted herself off but didn't look up at him. 

She felt his hand on her shoulder. "I told you to stay in the car."

"I know," she answered, not looking at him. 

"I suppose I have some explaining to do."

She looked up at him. She had expected to see a stern face, the one that she got when the climbed the trellis down from her bedroom, only to fall about halfway down when it wouldn't hold her weight, falling and crushing her mother's flowers. He had given her his best disapproving glare that night, then again when she tried to move the car out of the way and backed it into a planter, or was trying to jump her bike over the creek that ran through their back lot and didn't make it, both ruining her bike and breaking her arm. 

But the face she had grown accustomed to, the one that appeared just before she was in major trouble was not the one she saw now. He still had a slight frown, but his eyes weren't stern. They were more... searching. 

"What's happening Dad?"she ventured.

He took her hand, leading her back to their SUV. "You know all about one of my jobs, but not about the other. I am the director of a covert agency called Torchwood. What do you think we do?"

"I thought you may be a spy."

He chuckled. "Not quite. Torchwood is tasked with maintaining Earth and alien relations. We stop alien threats as well as arrange for the peaceful coexistence of aliens on Earth. 

"Was this a bad alien?"

"Yes, they have been on and off the planet for months. They are not nice guys. You heard my agents talking about them. They have a voracious appetite. Before we were able to shoot them down, they ate their way through four herds of deer. They have an amazingly high metabolism. It is thought that they came here to feed. We have banned them from the planet, but these guys broke through. I'm glad we were able to stop them. "

"Does this stuff happen all the time?"

Pete slowed as they approached the vehicle. 

He took a deep breath and turned to her, kneeling in front of her. "It happens more than you think. I know it's scary, but you can't tell a soul. People would go crazy if they found out. Does it scare you? If it does, I can give you something. I don't want to do it, but I can. It helps you forget-"

"No, please. I'm not scared. I just want to know."

And what happened next shaped the woman Rose would grow to be. Over the next few hours, Pete told her everything, well he left out some things. The only thing Rose thought as the climbed out of the car when they got home was just how badly she wanted to be out there, fighting for the Earth.


	2. Chapter 2

John Smith couldn't have been happier to start his new job. He had been with Torchwood for four years, working in the archives, but knew he could offer more. Anyone with a PhD in Xenobiology didn't need to while away hours in the Torchwood archives, but his other PhD, the one in electrical engineering, said otherwise. He had made great strides in the archives, discovering and reverse engineering hundreds of items that had come through the rift. Finally someone had noticed, and recommended he move up to the technology division. This was were the action was, this was where he could make a difference, taking the bits that had been found and making useful tools for Torchwood and beyond. 

But now he was on the front lines. Of course they would make him go to the archives and see what had come in periodically, but now he could actually work with the crews that were out there, fighting the fight. 

John was not a proud man, he didn't let people know enough about him to stand out. But once the higherups at Torchwood figured out he had an encyclopedic knowledge of alien life, mostly gained by research he did on his own, taking what was out there and melding it with evidence he found or was able to extrapolate from data stored on devices he was paid to interpret, he was promoted immediately. 

He came in early, choosing to take a survey of the equipment before his day started. Technically he had been up for hours, too excited to sleep. He had chosen his favorite suit for the day, a brown one with blue pin stripes and his favorite pair of Chucks. He knew he would have to don a lab coat to work but anything beat the coveralls he had to wear in the archives. Everything was dirty down there and normal clothes would have been ruined. On that day though, he dressed for him and had to suppress the gleeful smile that was threatening to emerge as he pulled open the door to the technology division. 

"So you're the new guy?" asked a voice behind him.

John turned to see a man, shorter than him with short, slightly spikey, blonde hair. "Yes. I'm John Smith."

"Well Doctor Smith, I'm Koshi. This place is my baby. "

"Please call me John." John turned to face the lab. "This place is fabulous. It's nice to see that some of the tech I found is being put to use. "

"Very. You have single handedly changed the tech at Torchwood. I'm glad to have you here."

"Well I had plenty of help. But I'm eager to get started supporting the troops, and of course, working on anything that will improve people's way of life. "

Koshi nodded in agreement and led John in, showing him all around explaining new tech that they were working on, as well as the procedures for checking out tech to the teams going out on ops. As he was shown around, a steady stream of technicians came in and took up work a their stations. 

Koshi led John towards the back of the large room. Th space was mostly open, with a few cubicles set up along the edges, and a few small rooms that looked like offices. John peeked into each, but only saw equipment but some of it Koshi didn't explain. Koshi kept leading John back where they found four technicians looking at CCTV footage at a large workstation with several screens. Koshi came up behind them. 

"This is were our intel comes from , that and calls from the police. Footage is reviewed and threats are identified. When there is enough evidence for action, we call for a team leader to take a look. If they think a treat exists, they either capture the threat, neutralize it or educate it. I wish they did more of the last one. Some of out teams only do surveillance and outreach, others are for threat mitigation."

"So you dispatch them from here?" John asked.

"No," Koshi said with a sarcastic laugh,"we gather the information, then contact a superior officer, who makes the call if we should respond a team and which one. This station is just for surveillance and data gathering. The teams in the field are each self dispatched and supported. "

"So no one is giving them information in real time?"

"Well kind of. They have a van. One of them is usually in there, he or she helps with identification and plans and such. So everything is done on scene."

"You said usually."

"Yeah, sometimes they need everyone and that person goes in too. I never said it was a great system. "

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yes but it's a long story. But to make it simple, they hate us and we hate them. They didn't like being told what was what but 'Techies',"he made air quotes, "and dispatch was taken away from us. They do it all themselves now and I'm happy. The less we have to talk to them the better. We also don't get blamed for their mistakes anymore. "

John looked back that the screens then back to Koshi."It just seems a little disjointed though. I mean if we have the wealth of knowledge and tech to back it up, we should be at least able to provide data and make sure they have what they need. "

"But yet, that's not how it is. Don't think too hard about it, John, just roll with it. " 

"But we still maintain and dispense all their gear. "

Koshi nodded. "Do you think, for a second, that those lunkheads could make their own tech? That would be a cluster. They need us, but they have no idea how much."

John shook his head as Koshi led him away from the monitors. 

Soon Koshi went about his work, but asking John to start work on an advanced infrared system that could integrate with their current optical systems and not be too heavy or big. Currently the crew had a infrared camera, but it was big and heavy, not really conducive to agents running around. The new system would hopefully be activated by a switch and allow them to use it with their current glasses and display. The new system had been started by a few different technicians, but it was proving difficult mainly because the displays that were in the glasses were made by a different company than the infrared one. He asked John for new eyes on it. Given that it was his first job in the new department, John was happy to begin, the thoughts of the agents and their system long gone. 

Time passed quickly for John, not like he was watching the clock. In fact, when he was immersed in a project he frequently forgot to check time, let alone drink water or eat. He had on numerous occasions looked up from a particularly interesting artifact in the archives and found it to be late at night, he had no idea where the time had gone. 

The infrared proved to be less complicated than everyone was making it. John had it ready to go in an hour and even added some features to it. Next he was given a system similar to facial recognition for humans, but one that not only look at aliens, but sampled pheromones, saliva, and overall odor. As he hunched over the table, staring at a component, deep in thought, he nearly had a heart attack when a loud set of tones sounded. He put his hand on his heart and looked around.

Everyone was on their feet. Koshi looked at him with a smirk noting his alarm. "They have a call, we need to get ready for them. Can you please bring out all the optical units?" He motioned to a glass doored cabinet that looked like it had been used to store the tricked out safety glasses. 

The glasses were all lined up in rows in a plastic case. They all were amber in color with a camera attached to the right side as well as an attachment along the top that allowed for a heads up display on the glasses themselves. They were quite advanced and light weight to boot. A technological marvel really. Torchwood spared no expense in equipment.

The door to the tech room slammed open and five fatigue clad people burst through. John's quick count showed that there were two women and three men. One man lead the way, a blond spiky haired bloke that carried himself as if he were in charge. Right on his heels as a dark skinned man with short cropped hair. The third was about the same age as the others, with wide shoulders. All wore stern expressions. The women were also close behind and stood next to the men once through the door. One of them was probably about thirty, as stern faced as the men, but the last one gave John pause. She was also blonde, with her hair pulled tightly back, but her expression was different than the other three. She looked happy, almost giddy, and trying in vain to cover it. 

The blonde spiky haired make spoke first. "Koshi! Let's go! I have a world to save!" He then banged his fist on the closest table. 

"Keep your shirt on, Jake, this is sensitive stuff, if I throw it at you it'll ruin it!" Koshi yelled back. 

"I swear you tech guys are on permanent vacation. You need to step it up!" 

John saw Koshi redden. "John, please hand out the glasses," he said through gritted teeth as he handed out ear pieces. 

John handed one to each person, ending with the blonde girl. 

She smiled at him. "I haven't seen you before, first day?" she asked quietly.

With all the tension in the room, having her smile was a welcome relief. "Yeah..."

"Me too, well apart form training. It's my first mission. I'm Rose."

"John. Well technically its not my first day either. I've been working in the archives for a while, but I was doing stuff and fixing things, and they moved me up here. I-"

"Tyler!" yelled Jake, making John and Rose jump, "Stop cavorting with the nerd squad and get ready. I wasn't kidding that we have a world to save."

John handed Rose her glasses, giving her a sheepish smile, which she returned, mouthing "sorry."

John nodded, and watched them all gear up. Each wore the glasses, had an ear piece and wore a device on their wrist, similar yet bigger than a watch, to control the radios and optical readouts. It was all highly advanced tech, some of it alien, some of it proprietary to Torchwood. Jake had also been given a tablet. 

John stepped back as they got a quick briefing from Koshi, "I've downloaded the building plans to your tablet. You should be-"

"Did you get the right building this time, and the newest plans?"

"I did." Koshi ground out. 

"Good." He turned to his team. "Let's go, these things will be asleep soon. We should be able to round them up. We need to get in and out before we raise any suspicion. "

The team nodded in unison. As they were leaving, Koshi shouted after them. "Please make sure the equipment all gets back for charging. And be gentle please."

Jake, who was ushering his team out looked back. "You'll find them how you find them. It's not my job to maintain the equipment, it's yours. " With that he turned and walked out. 

The door closed and Koshi growled, turning to John. "Now you know why we don't get along and why they don't want to take our advice on anything."

John's eyes were still on the closed door. "Well the blonde one,Rose, didn't seem that bad."

"Give them time, they'll turn her too. Did you catch the name though? It's Tyler, Rose Tyler. Let that sink in a minute," Koshi said, putting away the spare equipment. 

John thought for a second. "Oh, that Rose Tyler," he said quietly to himself. He had never been impressed with titles, a problem that got him in trouble a few times at uni. It had long since been his opinion that one should treat everyone with respect, from lunch lady to janitor to CEO. It just made sense. So Rose being the director's daughter would not matter in the least, as far as he was concerned. 

John watched as Koshi put away the left over gear. The whole situation, mainly the divide between the two departments, did not sit well with him. They all worked for the same place. If they worked together they would surely have a better outcome. The people in tech could even fix bugs and give information on the fly. Everyone in there was supremely qualified. It just seemed like such a waste. 

John eventually got back to work, but kept hearing what sounded like radio traffic coming from one of the smaller offices. He got up and wandered back and found the source. It was a small space, maybe 5 miters square. It had several monitors, all showing what looked like body camera footage. He hadn't even noticed the room before. This is where the voices were coming from.

John jumped when Koshi's voice came in his ear. "This is where we used to dispatch them from. "

"It's still all hooked up?" John asked.

"Yeah, it's all here. We record it all in case there is a problem. Sometimes that idiot Jake has to come in and review things. You can imagine how fun it is to have him here. "

"So you could talk to them if you wanted?"

"I suppose. There is a channel selection there. You could also type things and it will show up on their displays attached to their glasses. It's a really cool system. I have often thought of playing the Hokey Pokey music into their ears just to screw with them. Anyway, I'm out of here. If I'm late for dinner my wife will burn me at the stake. "

"Can I...Can I stay and listen? It might help me learn a little about how they use the tech we provide."

Koshi gave John a weird look. "Fine, you're not paid by the hour, you can stay as late as you want." With that he turned to go. 

John had a seat in the chair in front of the monitors. Within minutes he could see who was who and what they were seeing. He also figured out that Jake was in the van, and Rose and the other three were in the field. He looked at the radio controls. They were actually very simple. Each person had a controller on their wrist. They could change the channels they were talking on so that they could talk to each other as a group or individually. This was really helpful when there were several teams working. They could also send what their camera was seeing to another person in the field. Most of them listened to the radio traffic of the whole team all the time and switched channels to talk to individuals as needed. 

John picked up on what their assignment was easily. They were following up on a complaint of something that had been wreaking havoc at the power plant. Apparently something had been chewing wires and then rewiring things, badly. It has caused a few power outages and just general mayhem. Rose caught one on her camera and John knew what it was right away. It was about the size of a rat, but scaly with a furry tail. 

"There it is!" she called. "What is that?"

It took all John's strength not to talk into the microphone that was attached to the board. It was a Neel. They were generally harmless, but had a habit of infiltrating spacecraft of all sorts. They could have been in anything, from an alien just visiting to space vehicles from Earth. They were attracted to electromagnetic energy. They loved to move wires around trying to get the right feel of it, and make their homes. They also somehow liked to work during daylight hours. At night they would bed down. It might have to do with the lack of activity in the plant. Anyway, they were harmless, but pesky. It was best to collect them when they were sleeping. They could be fast. 

A voice came over the radio, John recognized it as Jake's."Yep, just as we thought, it's a Neel. Tell me about them, Agent Tyler."

Rose's voice came next. "They're fast, but usually bed down at night. You can get them then. They usually like to make their nests were the electromagnetic energy is the strongest. I have some pretty strong readings just behind this hatch. I'm gonna open it. "

"Sounds good, if we can find a lot of nests tonight it would be good. Then we can do an infrared sweep," Jake replied. "I'll bring in the unit when it's time." 

John watched with rapt attention as Rose carefully opened the hatch and found twelve slumbering Neel. "Bingo!" she said in a stage whisper. 

"Smith, get over there to her!" Jake ordered. John jumped at the use of his last name, only to realize that it was also the last name of the dark skinned agent. 

Over the next few hours, John watched as they meticulously combed the power plant. All in all catching about one hundred of the little rodents. John was impressed with the operation, it was well managed, and they seemed well informed. Jake was following the plans for the building and was able to guide the team members all over the place with ease. 

He watched Rose's display the most. He wasn't sure why, but he was drawn to it. Maybe because she was seeing it for the first time or that he liked what drew her attention, or he liked the she talked to each of the sleeping animals she put into the cage, much to the dismay of Agent Smith, who clearly didn't have her patience. 

The operation went late into the night, and John didn't miss a moment of it. After most of the rodents were picked up, Jake came in and did the aforementioned infrared sweep, but it only yielded two more animals. 

John didn't move throughout the whole operation. It was the first time he had ever experienced anything like it. Rose was doing very well for her first mission. As far as he could tell, she was right on the nose as far as procedures. She was quick and efficient too, catching a few nests where others had failed to look. Finally, early in the morning, the sweeps were done and Jake declared the scene clear. He announced for all the agents to come back to the van, they they would drop off their gear at tech before heading home. That was John's cue to leave. Thinking to what Koshi had told Jake to do, not leave the tech in a mess, John took out a box to properly hold the glasses and another for the radio gear. He set them on the table, hopefully allowing the team to properly put their gear up, then left before he was spotted.

As John drove to his flat he couldn't help going over what he had just witnessed. Torchwood was a talented agency. But the divide between the people who held all the knowledge and the people who were using it was too wide. It would be something to look into, but first he needed a few hours of sleep before being ready for the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, two chapters again today, because i felt neglectful. It's been crazy! I hope you enjoy.

Hours later, after four hours of sleep and a shower for John, he was back. He wasn't worried about the sleep, he commonly only got between four and six on any given night. He just didn't need it. 

He came in, noting that he had beat Koshi. On the table where he left the boxes, was a pile of tech, jumbled together. He blew out a breath. Well so much for allowing the teams to help. He grumbled and went about putting the glasses and glasses into their box first. That is when he saw it. One pair of them was settled neatly into place. Upon further inspection, that same was for the radio and headset. One person on the team had seen to it that the gear was properly stored. He picked one of the headsets and turned them in his hand. Then he looked closer. On the earpiece there was a little blonde hair. He smiled, placing it back where she had, hoping it was indeed Rose who had taken care of things. In his mind he was convinced it was her. 

OoOoOo

When Rose climbed into the van for a ride back to Torchwood after the operation was over, she had been proud of herself. Of course she had had a bit of a bollocking because she was a little slow to cage the Neels, but she didn't care. Her first mission was complete, and it had gone off without a hitch. Finally she had a feeling that she stood on her own two feet, proving that she wasn't just the director's kid. Now, of course, she knew that the Neels were not a dangerous species, a rather docile one, in fact. But she also knew it was the little missions that built into the confidence that allowed for the big missions, much like a firefighter doesn't want the giant fire on the first day, rather a series of calls that would allow them to hone the skills needed. It felt good though. 

Thee team had trudged up to the tech room to drop off their gear after seeing that the little captives were safely placed in custody. No one asked where they would go from there, but Rose hoped they would be shipped home, wherever that was. 

When they got to the tech room she was a little disappointed to see that no one was there. Jake directed them to just pile up everything saying that the nerds would sort it in the morning and that was their job. Rose was the last to get in. She saw the boxes that John had left out for them and gently set her items in them. Jake had already left for the locker rooms, and only Mickey, Jake's number two man, saw her do it, but he only raised an eyebrow at her. 

OoOoO

On his second day at his new job, John was tasked with finishing the integration for the infrared into the optical displays. He was also trying to make the entire system as light as possible. It would do no good if the camera was so heavy it gave the agents headaches. So John was hunched over a work table most of the day, deep into his work. A marching band could have come through that day and he wouldn't have noticed. 

Finally around two in the afternoon, he thought he had it. He stood and stretched. He thought the system worked, but he needed someone to test it. Preferably someone who would have to wear it. Then, the most fortuitous thing happened, Rose walked by the door. 

"Oh Rose!" he shouted after her. 

She stopped a few steps past the door and turned around. "Yes?" She looked shocked, possibly at the use of her name or the enthusiasm in which it was called out. 

John jogged over to where she was. "Hi, I uh, finished something and needed a test subject. Do you have a moment to spare?"

"I suppose so. Will it hurt?" she asked with a teasing smile. 

"I don't think so, I-I mean probably not, " he stammered back, hand now rubbing the back of his head. 

Rose smiled again. "I'm kidding, I trust you. Sure, I'll do it."

John let out a puff of air then smiled excitedly. "C'mon then!"

She followed him past Koshi, who gave John a frown, and back to where John had been working. John picked up the glasses and turned to her. She made no gesture to grab them, so John eased them over her ears. The proximity made him blush. 

"They're heavier," she remarked, moving her head back and forth. 

"Yeah, this is a prototype. I wasn't using our lightest materials. When I do, they will be a few ounces lighter."

He handed her the scanner which was now smaller than a mobile phone, then switched on something on the glasses themselves, and stepped back. "Aim the scanner at me," he said,stepping back and moving his arms around. 

"Oh! I see you!" she exclaimed. 

John smiled and started to dance in front of her. Rose laughed. Koshi made a noise and John turned his head to him. He was not pleased. 

John ignored him. "OK now, I'll go behind this door and we'll see what you see." He stepped behind a heavy wooden door and did a similar dance. "I can see you just as well." Rose remarked. 

"Field trip?" he asked.

"What?"

"Let's do a bit if of field test, come with me." He motioned towards the door. 

John took Rose out of the tech office and various places around Torchwood, he hid behind pillars and various things to see just how good the scanner was. It was actually quite good. The only thing that she was not able to see him behind was thick concrete, but most things, walls and such, she could see him. 

"Wow John, this is really something!" she said after he could be seen behind a wall, not clearly, but his signature was there. 

John eased the glasses off her face, noticing that they had left red marks on her nose and cheeks because of the weight of them. 

"Oh, sorry for that," he said, running his finger over the top of her cheek without thinking, she flinched at the unexpected touch, causing him to withdraw his hand like he had been shocked. 

Rose looked down at his hand, now by his side, again, then back up to his face. "It's nothing really, I didn't even notice," she said back, sweetly. 

"TYLER!" Jake yelled from down the hall. They both whipped around guiltily. 

"Yes boss?" she asked. John noted instantly her affect changed. She went from casual and nice, even flirty, to stiff and all business.

"You have weapons training in exactly two minutes," Jake ordered. 

"Yes, sorry, I was trying out a-"

Jake interrupted, "I don't care what kind of grab ass you were playing, you have training and if you are late you will be doing pushups until next week." He turned and headed down the hall. 

With that, Rose was off like a shot after him. She didn't even say anything to John, he just watched her go. He sighed, wondering what she had thought about the touch. It was just a reflex. It's not like he was trying to make a move on her, just make sure she wasn't hurt. 

On second thought though, flirting wasn't too much of a stretch. Rose was cute, but also smart and funny. It wouldn't be a horrible thing to be near her more. But he could tell Torchwood was a divided place. He wouldn't have minded hanging with her a little longer, but that little exchange proved that it may be impossible to have working or otherwise relations with anyone but who he was allowed to by the culture surrounding him. With a deep sigh he headed back to the lab.

OoOoo  
Later that day, John had moved to a different project. He had been given a component of something that had come up from the archives. Another technician had determined that the device was some sort of water purification system. But the piece that John had was broken and he need to figure out how to re-engineer it, but without all the pieces. But it was proving frustrating to say the least. He pushed the device away from himself and stood. He needed to change his focus for a little bit, putting the puzzle to the back of his mind. It was a common way that he worked out problems, just to push the issue away and let his brain work through it while he did something else for a while. This time he found himself wandering over to the intel area. 

He observed for a while, his eyes flitting from one screen to another before stepping up to one of the technicians. She was watching and re-watching footage from some sort of factory. John leaned in close and the tech looked up at him. She was a pretty girl close to his age. "Hi there, Doctor Smith, I'm Emma."

John stood suddenly, not realizing how close he had gotten. "Oh don't call me Doctor Smith, call me John please. What are you looking at?"

"Oh I don't know, actually. We have had several reports of alarms going off at this plant. But I haven't been able to catch anything on the CCTV. They have had several fires start seemingly spontaneously, but without any fuel or obvious points of ignition. We do have some footage of one of the fires starting, but the image is pretty bad. Anyway, the information was called into to the police, and there is a detective who is familiar with Torchwood. He sends the weird stuff to us. I just can't figure out what it is and if it is a real threat."

John squinted at the screen, leaning past Emma. From out of his lab coat pocket he pulled a pair of glasses and slid them on. He didn't catch Emma blushing at his proximity, but her eyes were glued to him rather than the screen. 

"That part there, Emma, can you back that up?" He pointed to one of the screens. 

Emma did and John got even closer. "There!" he said pointing, "There was something slithering away, in the upper corner, just before that was ignited, do you see that?"

"Yeah, but it's dark in that corner. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I've been trying to see, but if you look again, it looks like something might have fallen from the ceiling, but it makes no sense, there's nothing up there, it's solid from the wall to the ceiling. I showed Koshi but he thinks it was nothing. But it still doesn't explain why it happened. The fire started on the floor a few seconds later."

"I see, yes..." He ran his fingers through his hair, Emma's eyes getting wider. "There are several known varieties of life that cause either spontaneous combustion or are able to leak or extrude incendiary substances. Several of them have tentacles. It certainly could be one of them. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. "

"Do you think it warrants a team going out and investigating?"

He squinted at the screen again."Yes, I think it does. I know you probably like hard evidence of something out there, but I think it's worth a look, especially if it is starting fires. So, if you do want to investigate, what happens next?"

"Well, we put in a call to one of the ops supervisors. At the same time we gather as much info on the site as possible. In this case, I've already done it. It is a manufacturing plant, but has several levels and smaller rooms than you would imagine. They make phone components. The building is about fifty years old, but it was extensively remodeled five years ago to accommodate the need for clean rooms and such. "

"You know a lot about this building. You are very thorough," he said.

Emma looked down to hide her blush, but when she looked up he was looking back at the screen and didn't see her. 

"Um, John? Would you like to see how we get the information for the operations and send it to the teams?"

"Oh yes please!" John smiled charmingly at her and Emma smiled back, then John turned back to the screens. 

"Well OK," Emma started, her voice now a little shaky, she cleared her throat."Um, we are able to tap into the database for the city's planning and zoning commission. We can do this for any city or area, if it is stored we can get it, and in any language, it translates immediately. "

"Wow! That's something else! Then you download it for the teams?"

"Yeah, we can send it to the team leader or the individuals. See? All the options are here. When a team member signs onto the system, they are hooked into the whole Torchwood database. We can send them the specifics. They generally don't access the data themselves, it's too hard to do on their display, but we can send them whatever we want. We don't usually do it though, just send it to the team leader. "

John turned and leaned on the desk next to her, crossing his arms. "I'd think that having the individual team members have the information, and perhaps overlaying their locator to see where they were in the building would be very helpful."

"Yeah, but they don't want it, well, they don't want the additional stuff going to the team members, they say it gets us too involved. "

"That's crazy."

She shook her head."That's Torchwood. Rule number one is not to mess with the teams. But I'm going to have Koshi bring a supervisor down here to see if they want to act."

"I think they will, something is starting these fires, and I'll venture a guess it's not teenagers." John said.

"I agree," Emma said, motioning to Koshi across the room. 

John stepped back. "Well, Emma, thank you so very much for your information. I'd like to sit with you again and pick up some more of what you do. Would that be OK with you?"

Emma broke into a huge grin. "I'd lo-like that."

John gave her an odd look for a moment. "OK then, till then!" turned on his heel and headed back to his work station. 

Emma turned in her chair and watched him every step of the way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little action? Yes please! John comes to the rescue!

When the tones went off for the op that afternoon, Rose was in the middle of weapons training. It hadn't been the best day overall, and Jake had constantly been on her tail, so the distraction was welcomed. 

She hurried and dressed and met the team just outside the tech lab. Jake opened the door and they all piled in. There were more people than last time. Koshi and John were waiting at the table with the necessary gear, but rather than get what they needed and leave, Jake chose that moment to do a loud briefing. 

"OK, is everyone here? Ok, we are heading to an electronics manufacturing plant. It's not your normal plant, the rooms are smaller. It's been recently remodeled too. We have the new plans, right Koshi?"

"Yes, " Koshi ground out.

"Well I certainly hope so. Anyway. It is some sort of fire starter, but we can't get a good look at it, so we need to have our heads on a swivel even more than usual. Any questions?" There was general head shaking form the team. "Good, let's gear up. "

Koshi handed out optical gear and radio gear, someone else handed out special small respirators that could be used in fire and allowed for 15 minutes of breathing in smoke, and John handed out the Kevlar gloves that Koshi had brought out. He smiled at them all, with no return of expression, until he got to Rose Tyler. He granted her with a big ear to ear grin and she reciprocated. 

"Which size glove for you Rose Tyler?" he asked, still grinning.

"Small please," she answered, holding a hand out. John carefully set the gloves in her hand. "Thank you," she then said. She was the only one that thanked him. 

"Have a safe mission, erm, or should I say something like 'break a leg' for superstition sake?" he asked. 

She beamed at him. "'Have a safe mission is fine, I'm not superstitious, thank you. And I will try... To be safe, that is." She visibly blushed, then looked up to see that his ears had gotten quite red also. 

"Tyler! Stop lollygagging!" came Jake's voice form the hall. Rose turned in a second and bolted out the door. John wondered if perhaps Jake was enjoying being able to jump at the boss's daughter, though he personally thought it stupid. 

Again Koshi left out the containers for the gear hoping that it would be put away correctly. Again John wondered if Rose would be the only one to but the gear back correctly. This time two teams had been sent out because of the threat. John figured that Jake would take over and command them both. He seemed to always want to be in charge. 

John found himself wondering how it would go. But then he thought that he could stay and listen again, there was no problem with that. Maybe he would start to pick up on what gear may be needed for the operations, that and he really wanted to hear how Rose was doing, if he told himself the truth. He finished up his work, put everything away, and soon was alone in the lab. He took a seat at the console and put on the headphones that were attached to the side of the radio. 

The traffic on the radio indicated that they were just setting out and were in teams of two. Rose was with the guy named Mickey and they were searching the top floor. No one was reporting much, just some scorch marks. One of the teams had the infrared machine but it was showing nothing. John fired up the computer in front of him only to find that it was similar to the one Emma had showed him. Within seconds he had pulled up the building plans. Then he remembered that the building had been remodeled and pulled up the old plans too just for comparison sake. Not much had changed with the remodel, some of the offices had been constructed over some of the older fixtures, most likely for time constraints. John perused the plans, both of them, idly listening to what was happening in the building. 

They were wrapping up the searches with little or nothing to report and it seemed Jake was starting to go for another tactic when the first fire was reported. It was in a lab on the second floor and the team in that area was getting a fire extinguisher while the other teams were rushing to the scene to see if they would locate the source. Seconds later a second fire was reported on the first floor by another crew. Mickey and Rose headed to the second one, arming themselves with a fire extinguisher also. 

By this time John was glued to the radio, and watching their optical readouts and video feeds. He had Rose's displayed on the monitor right in front of him. Her camera swept back and forth quickly as she took in details. But as thorough as she was, John could also tell that she was nervous. She moved her head quickly, and more jerky than some of the more seasoned agents. 

She and Mickey made it to the area where the first fire was reported, only to find that it had been easily put out by the other crew. John heard Rose on the coms. "Jake, why do we not have overhead sprinklers?"

Jake's voice came back. "Each lab has its own fire suppression. It's special to not harm the components. The hallways should have sprinklers, I'm checking on that now." 

John could see Rose and Mickey looking around another room , it looked to be an office, when there was a loud whooshing sound. They both looked up, gasping in synch. John leaned in towards the monitor and saw that Rose's camera showed that the ceiling was now on fire. Mickey aimed the extinguisher up only seconds before a section of ceiling collapsed in front of Rose. She screamed. John could tell that she was looking around frantically. Fire was everywhere and now she was cut off from Mickey. John could hear Mickey calling for her. He also could see Rose starting to panic. Her head moved from side to side, looking for a way out and he could hear her breaths quicken. Next, she started to cough. John couldn't help himself. He reached for the microphone.

All he said were three words. "Remember your respirator." 

He saw Rose fumbling, then saw the distinct sight of a mask going over her face, slightly obscuring her camera. Then he heard her breathing normalize. 

That was it, he had gotten her to calm down and put her respirator on. He was done. On the radio, Mickey was yelling now. Rose slipped on her Kevlar gloves and was clearly poking around, looking for an escape. She was surrounded by fallen ceiling tiles and ventilation ducts, completely obscuring her view. 

John began to frantically look at the plans. It was not good news. She was stuck. If she climbed though, she would surely be burned, and the new plans only showed one way out, and that was on the other side of the downed ceiling. Then he looked at the old plans, instantly zeroing in on where she was. And there it was, an air duct. The newer design had all the ducts in the ceilings, but the older one, they were in the walls. In their haste to retrofit the old into the new, they most likely just covered up the old ones. 

As Rose's situation became more dire, the radio traffic turned crazy. Mickey was injured, someone else had spotted something that they thought was the alien and the place was on fire. No one could save her, and the situation had dissolved into chaos. John took another chance. He used the link to her optical readout and typed her a message. "Agent Tyler switch your radio to channel 2 for instructions," he hastily typed. Then he switched the radio over and waited. 

On the screen he could see her fumbling again. Then, "This is Tyler on Channel 2."

John let out a rush of air, then keyed the mic. Then he let it go. He could get in massive trouble for this. He was already treading on thin ice.

"Hello? This is Tyler on channel two. I'm trapped. "

He took a breath, and in a timbre much, much lower than his normal one he answered. "Listen carefully, stick out your left hand and feel for the wall. I need you to kick it really hard and break the drywall. If you can't in one area, move an inch or two over and try again. You have to kick rally hard."

"OK..." she said, and he could tell she was moving. Her voice was echoing a little in the mask. 

Next he heard a series of thumps. With each one, she had a sharp intake of breath. John nearly died with each kick. 

"It's not working!" she said, her voice now higher, clearly in distress. 

"You have to do it, Rose, turn and donkey kick it if you have to." He was careful to keep the tone of his voice low, hoping it wouldn't be recognizable. 

Then, five kicks later, the noise changed. "Got it!" she yelled.

"Good, now pull the drywall back. You will have to feel for it, but there should be a metal air duct behind the wall. "

"I don't feel anything!" She said, he could hear her pulling down the drywall. "Wait, here's something!"

He knew she was doing this by feel, she was in total blackness due to the smoke. 

"I found it, but it feels covered!" she yelled. 

"OK, the plans look as if there are clips on the top and bottom. Turn those counter clockwise, and you should have it. Then climb in, and follow it to the right. That should lead you to the next room and you can break out there. "

"Alright." He could see her moving, and a little clearly now that she was on her knees. She took off the clips and crawled inside the duct. It was huge and she was small so it was perfect. She switched on a torch she must have had on her belt and he could see her crawling. "How far do I have to go?" she asked. 

"About ten feet. It will take you to the room beyond the room you were in with the other agent. "

He waited as she crawled. "I see another vent, is that it?"

"It should be. So now you'll have to get the cover off and kick out the drywall. "

"I have a cutting tool, I guess I could have used that before," she said, now calmer. Then came the distinct sound of metal being cut. 

John felt a little guilty, he didn't know what the agents carried, it would have been helpful to know earlier so he could suggest it. "I didn't know you had that, sorry," he said, dropping his voice even lower, as it had a tendency to rise when he got excited. 

"It's alright, I couldn't see well before," she said, still working on the metal. 

Finally the cover came free and she set it behind her. Then she crawled up to the opening, put her back against the back of the duct and kicked the wall really hard. John admired her strength, as he could see what she was seeing. Then on the third kick, they could see light. 

"Ha ha got it!" she yelled. She kicked a few more times before she was able to climb though. Gratefully that room was clearer, with no fire and an intact ceiling. Rose clamored to her feet, and opened the door to the next room "Mickey? Are you in here?" she yelled. 

"I'm here!" He popped into view and limped to her, closing the door behind him. 

They ran, well he didn't do as well as she did, together to the stairwell, starting to descend it. It was mercifully smoke free. They both took off their respirators. 

"How did you get out?" Mickey asked, out of breath. 

"I don't kn-" she started but they both stopped short. On the landing below them was a huge scorch mark. Their eyes followed it, ending at a deep red octopus looking thing. It had tentacles, it looked like ten or more, but it was totally still. 

"Do you think it tired itself out lighting all those fires?" Mickey asked. 

"Maybe," Rose answered. They approached slowly. John looked closely too, then began furiously typing on his computer. He got what he needed, and sent it immediately to Rose's display. 

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "OK that's weird, it showed up on my optical display. It's called an Ordissian. They can attach to the bottom of space ships or anything really, and seem to come through the void. It could have come through attached to some debris. This looks like a young one, but most likely smaller when it got here. It says here if you pick it up and gather all the tentacles together it can't start another fire. It has to whip them to make a spark and release the accelerant. "

Quickly, Mickey grabbed all the tentacles and the exhausted animal didn't protest. No further instruction came from her mysterious benefactor, but Rose hardly had time to notice. She helped Mickey out with the alien, then assisted in the treatment of the agents that had been injured in the fire. In one quiet moment, Rose stood next to Jake. "Whoever helped me with all that information was great, it saved me. Did that come from you?"

Jake gave her a weird look. "I don't know what talking about, Tyler." Then he quickly became busy with another matter. Rose shook her head, realizing that after the readouts came about the being, there hadn't been any further radio traffic or messages. That was odd. Someone had to be aware of the situation in order to help. It had to be someone with an intimate knowledge. It must have been Jake or her father, giving her a little boost. Even though she would had like to be able to save herself without any help, she shuttered to think what would have happened if that voice hadn't popped into her ear. She could have died. Yeah that's what happened. Someone helped her out. She just wished she knew who it was. 

Meanwhile, John was hurriedly erasing any evidence of him being there and rushing out of the lab. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face though. That had been fun, well not initially fun, but it had a good result, Rose had lived, and it was largely due to him. Of course no one could find out. John had a spring in his step as he left the building. He had to crouch by his car when the vans pulled up though, delivering the agents back to Torchwood. They couldn't see him, especially if Rose told anyone about what he had done. He had heard her get shutdown by Jake though. Maybe that would stop further questions, but he doubted it. Rose was sharp. But if he could keep from being linked to it, and he had covered his tracks well, he should be fine. But he felt a new pull. What had happened needed to happen He knew he needed to not be involved, but he had helped, and couldn't stop thinking about being there for her next call, no matter what the consequences. But first he had work to do.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today John Helps Rose in a different way. Thanks for reading this! It is a completed work, but I have not been able to keep up my twice a week posting schedule. That will change after the holiday! And don't worry, there is plenty of angst on tap.

The next day most of the agents had off, which was occasionally the case after a big or dangerous operation. But Rose, being new, still had to come in. John had come in at his normal time to find a mess again with all the optical readout glasses and radios gear tangled together, and the respirators piled up and needing cleaning, as well as a huge pile of Kevlar gloves. That was, of course, except for one set of everything that was placed nicely in the appointed containers. He smiled to himself. Rose was a gem. 

John came back from his lunch break, a rather uninteresting trip to the cafeteria, only to see something that made him very happy. Rose Tyler was standing behind Emma and next to Jake, squinting at the monitors. 

John shot a questioning glance at Koshi, who scowled. 

"He must be bored," he muttered, before turning away and finding somewhere else to be.

At the monitors, Jake was talking. "Oh yeah, I can see it now. That was quick, good catch!" he patted Emma on the shoulder, who smiled and blushed. "Well I can see why it's a problem, but I don't need a full team for it. I'll just take Tyler and Johnson.We can canvas the neighborhood, find where they are living and make contact they may just not know that they need to register. We'll have a chat with them. "

John watched Rose as she watched the monitors. He could tell that she was keenly interested by how she watched so intently. It was interesting, as the daughter of the director she chose to do everything by the book, instead of it being handed to her. She was intelligent too, that was more than evident. She would do well here, she may have to kick Jake in the balls to get him off her back, but she would prove herself before long. 

Jake turned to Rose. "Go get Johnson then come back here. We're not going to tone this out, she's just in the shooting range and it's just us. Put on your khaki dress slacks and black polo shirt. We can't go walking into neighborhood in full Torchwood mode." Rose nodded and Jake turned to Koshi, who was a few feet away. "Do you still have those optical readouts that look like normal glasses? We'll need stealth earwigs too."

Koshi nodded and went to the cabinet. 

Rose started for the door, walking right next to John, who stiffened slightly. "Hi John!" she said happily. 

"Hi Rose!" he said back, grinning like a loon. 

"Tyler!" Jake yelled from behind and Rose jumped. Then she gave a little wave to John and left. John's eyes followed her. Then he looked back into the lab, only to see Emma's eyes on him. She wore an expression he couldn't read. 

John went to work at his station being careful to not make it obvious what he was working on. Before too long, Rose was back with another girl that John had seen before. They were both dressed in khaki pants and black polo shirts with at "T" on the upper left part on the chest. Jake had gone and come back too, he was dressed the same. 

They collected their gear and John was careful to be there to hand it out. The glasses they now wore were much slimmer, allowing for a smaller readout, but they were mainly wearing them because of the cameras installed in the frames. They each fitted a small earwig receiver in their ear and a small microphone that went under the collar of the shirt. They looked like salespeople or something similar. John got the job of placing the microphones on all three of them, he saved Rose for last, and was rewarded with a warm smile. 

"Ok, so we're going in about the time people should be getting off work and such. If anyone askes what you are going, tell them you are with health and safety doing a survey on stray dogs. Oh, I forgot. Koshi! Do you have the IDs?"

Koshi was indeed at that time approaching with ID badges, which he handed over. When clipped to their collars, they both hid the microphones and partially covered the Torchwood T.

Jake continued to talk on their way out. "We'll split up and if we find them, we'll all go in together. We have good intel into the neighborhood that they are in, but no one had been able to tail them all the way to their house. It think they may have some sort of cloaking device. That Emma girl caught just a glimpse of one when it glitched. I guess she had been looking in the neighborhood because of everyone complaining about the insect population increasing." The rest of his words were cut of as the door shut behind them. 

John looked at Koshi. "Well he wasn't that bad today," he said, indicating where Jake had been. 

"No, Emma came to him personally, and he was trying to impress her. He does that a lot. He flirts with whoever or whatever he wants. But I know his boyfriend works in HR, so she doesn't have a chance."

John laughed, "She may be a little disappointed. "

"Nah, I saw her eyes on you the other day. "

"Huh?" John asked . Before he could get an answer, Koshi got called to the back of the lab for something. John, still confused, shook his head and went back to his workstation. 

Soon thereafter though, the day was over. John cast a glance to the radios he had been at the night before. He was curious, and he had something to check. So he waited for everyone to leave, then carefully went into the dispatch room, unplugged the microphone, plugged it into a device in his hand, then again into the console. He looped the audio so he could hear it but it didn't transmit. 

"Hello?" he said into it. The voice that came from the speakers was much lower than his. He did it, he made a voice modulator that was compatible with the radio system there. Now, should he need to, he could talk to anyone on the radio, but they wouldn't be able to recognize his voice. He had thought of the device in his sleep, a lot of his ideas came that way, and he was able to come to work and make it without anyone noticing. He worked so quickly, no one had notice that he had finished his other project and had moved to a new one. 

Now in the dispatch room he turned on the monitors, and radio. Immediately he could hear Rose's voice,"I'm on Elm. I see nothing. I'll go down one more street here, it's Cedar, I think. "

Jake's voice came next. "Just look for a high concentration of bugs. We'll find it."

"I have been, but it's hard."

"The Chameers need a high amount of bugs to survive, so they have to allow them to breed and take over. Keep looking, check the sewers if you have to. "

John heard Rose make an "ugh" noise that she tried to cover with a cough. But Jake's assessment was wrong. The Chameers hated wet places, he was right about them needing a lot of bugs around, but the other thing was wrong. John saw her looking around, then zeroing in on a manhole cover. She walked towards it and he saw that she crouched down. She wasn't thinking about going down there, was she?

He quickly typed a message on her optical readout "Switch to channel 2"

Rose stood and did so, quickly this time. "Yes? Who is this? Why are you monitoring our coms?"

John was taken a little aback by her questions, though he realized that she had every right to ask. He keyed the mic,"I'm..." uh oh. He didn't know who he was. His voice was modulated, and that was good, but he couldn't say his name, no way. He panicked. "Uh, this is... The Doctor. I'm here to help."

"Do you work for Torchwood?"

He paused again. If he said yes she may try to figure out who he was, if no, she would tune him out. "Yes, I do," he said finally. 

"Do I know you?"

"No, but I'm just here to help you. Take my guidance or don't. "

"But you saved my life. "

"No, you saved your life, I just gave you the means, you provided the effort."

"So what are you then, like some sort of information source, just for me?" Her voice grew angry. "Is this from my dad? Is he doing this?"

John was quick to answer. "No it's not your dad. I'm... Just helping. I happen to have an intimate knowledge of what you are doing and want to give you an extra hand. You agents need that sometimes, and eye in the sky as it were. But you have a task to do, what do you know of the Chameers? "

She didn't answer right away, as if contemplating trusting him. Then there was an audible sigh. "I know that they need a lot of bugs, and they make their homes to accommodate that, they are frequently teaming with bugs. Most likely they are using some sort of cloak or shimmer and are functioning as normal humans. We want to talk to them because they did not register, but they are not in any sort of trouble as of yet. "

"Why are you heading to the sewer?"

"Because Jake thinks that they may be in there. "

"OK, valid point, but they are not particularly fond of the dampness associated with sewer life. In the times we've encountered them before, they have had normal dwellings, well, bug covered, but normal. "

"But how will I find them if they have a normal house? It's not like I can see bugs from the street. " She stopped, then smiled. "Wait, near the end of this street. One of the houses was completely overgrown, completely not like the others. Could that be it?"

John smiled to himself, she was sharp."I think it's worth a second look."

Rose turned and jogged back to the house in question. It had a waist high iron fence surrounding it but the grass and weeds were so high they obstructed the house. 

"Hmf," came a disgruntled voice from behind her. Rose turned to see an old lady with a very small dog on a leash. 

"Are you from Health and Safety?" the lady asked gruffly. 

"Yes," Rose answered.

"Well I've been complaining for month a about this house, I right mess it is. It attracts insects and they are beginning to invade other houses. They need to clean up! You can smell rotten garbage from here! I can't even imagine what is in that house. They're probably loony!" She continued to mumble about them as she turned and pulled the little dog away. 

"This must be the place," Rose said. Before John could acknowledge her, she switched channels and updated Jake. John didn't know if she switched back or not because she didn't talk anymore until Jake and the other girl, Claire, got there. She did poke around a little, looking at the ground and honing in on lines of ants and other insects, as if convincing herself. 

When the team was assembled, they quickly started to make a plan. "I'll take lead on this," Jake said,"you two just listen and learn. We don't have backup so we need to not put them on the defensive."

Rose nodded and Jake opened the gate. Once on the other side of the initial overgrowth, John could hear them all gagging. "That's disgusting!" Rose coughed. John could see that there were indeed piles of refuse, all covered in bugs, leading all the way up to the door of the house. 

John hoped she had switched her radio back and took a chance. "Breathe through your mouth. Not through your nose at all, it helps," he said.   
A muttered "Thanks," let him know that she got the message. The other two continued to struggle as Rose recovered. John was elated though that she had switched back, but not sure why. Maybe it was the ability to talk into her ear without anyone telling him he couldn't . 

The trio approached the front door. John could see through their cameras the amount of flying insects buzzing about and the amount of insects crawling on the house. He could tell that Rose was uncomfortable just by how her movements had become jerky. She was clearly wiping things, or bugs, off her skin. He felt for her. Just seeing what they were seeing made him itch. 

Jake knocked on the door. "Health and Safety!" he called. There was no answer.

He tried again after a minute. "Health and Safety! You need to open the door please. " 

After another minute, nothing. But they could hear someone moving about inside. 

Jake shook his head. "OK, now we have to get serious." He lowered his voice, not using the loud tone but a commanding one none the less. "You need to open up. This is Torchwood and you are in violatio-" The door swung open. 

All three peered inside, but the interior was dark. "Show yourselves." Jake ordered. 

From behind the door came a man, less than three meters tall, and a woman, slightly taller. Both decidedly human, but odd looking. Rose couldn't put her finger on why though. 

"Your true form, please," Jake ordered. 

Both of the figures shimmered before them before revealing their true shape. Rose stifled her gasp. They were slender, almost completely white, large heads, but very slight. They had small beady eyes, three of them, and long fingers. It looked funny too, they were still wearing the clothes they had on as humans, which now hung off of them. 

The taller one, the one dressed as a female, spoke. "Torchwood? "

"Yes, may we please come in? I don't think this matter needs to be spoke of outside. "

The figures backed up, allowing the trio into their house. Inside, it took Rose everything she had not to bolt back out the door. The entire place was crawling. It was like the walls and floor were moving. As they went into the front hallway, they were crunching under their feet. As the Chameers stopped to look at the three Torchwood agents, the taller one casually swiped at the closest wall, filling its hand with bugs and delivered them to its mouth, then chewing with an audible crunch. Rose almost vomited right there. 

Once the door was closed, Jake began to speak. He addressed the shorter being, dressed as a man. "I'm Jake Simmonds and I represent Torchwood. We have come to find out that though you are living in London, you have not registered, as is the law. All visiting new species must register with Torchwood within 30 days of arrival, state their intentions and attend mandatory assimilation training in order to stay. You have done none of that."

In reaction to Jake, both figures, without a word, began to swell, finally beginning to fill out the clothes that had hung on them. For a second, Rose thought that they were converting back to their human forms, but the swelling made their faces rounder, heads now very large. All three agents took a step back. Then both of the aliens started to get a red hue. Rose eyes widened, wondering if they would grow so much as to pop. She had never heard of any being reacting like this before. She had no idea what to do. 

She was ready to cut and run and turning to do so when John's voice came into her ear. His voice, though modulated, was hurried and urgent. "Rose, they are a matriarchal society. Having Jake talk, and to the male, angered them. Step forward, put your hands out, palms up, and address the taller one, the female. Greet her and welcome her to Earth. Hurry!"

Rose did exactly as asked, turning to face the red and expanding beings. Jake started to protest but she ignored him. She adopted a calming tone, and with her arms out as directed said to the female, "Hello, Torchwood welcomes you to the planet Earth. I am Rose Tyler, an agent sent to see that you and your mate are properly registered and to see if you need help adapting to his atmosphere or environment." 

She stood there, hands out, frozen, eyes locked to those of the female, not sure what was going to happen. Both of them had continued to swell, stretching out their human clothing to what looked like uncomfortable levels. 

Then ever so slightly, the hue changed. Rose wasn't sure at first, but it changed, then more. They went from deep red to lighter, then pink. Slowly they shrunk too, but not as quickly as they changed color. Rose didn't move at all, but kept a nonconfrontational expression on her face throughout. 

The female finally spoke. Even with their universal translators, that had been permanently affixed inside their ears, thanks to alien tech, her voice sounded like wind chimes. Rose had to listen very carefully to pick out words. 

"Thank you for your greeting."

Rose left her hands out. "When did you arrive?" she asked.

The female replied, "We arrived approximately 3 of your Earth months ago. We are refugees. My maternal unit was the leader of our clan and we were overtaken by rivals. My mate and I got out just as our village burned. We have been travelling for a long time. We lived under the ground in tunnels for a time, but found this domicile. "

"Were there residents in it?"

"No, we observed it for days. When we were able to obtain a human form, we made our way into the residence. Humans that lived around us came and told us that the home was to be taken down because of the infestation of insects. I told them that we were here to study them."

That was pretty smart, Rose though. "So no one bothered you? How do you get power?"

"No. We have a power generator that we brought with us. It uses your solar rays. My mate was able to convert it to use with our needs here. "

"What are you planning on doing here?"

The female eyed the other two agents before looking back to Rose. "We simply want to live. This domicile is perfect for us, and my mate was able to find employment. He clears brush and picks up garbage for a human that owns buildings. He is given compensation, but we are not aware of how to use it. We have a bartering society on our home planet. "

The female walked away briefly, then came back with a stack of cash, showing it to Rose. 

Rose was still standing there, arms out. She didn't know quite what to do. "Um, how may I address you?" she asked the female. 

"You may use the moniker 'Dala' for me, and 'Rala' for my mate. "

"Thank you Dala, I would like to ask you if I may lower my arms in order to speak with you."

Dala made a laughing noise. "Yes, having you appendages out was to show that you were not hiding anything. It is a sign of respect on my world. "

"Thank you," Rose said, dropping her arms to her sides. Jake came up and whispered to her and she nodded. "We would like to accompany you to our headquarters to register you, but to also to see that you can get trained in assimilation. The reason that brought us here was that your neighbors, the ones living near you, did not like all the insects that are around your home. In our culture they are pests."

Dala's eyes widened. "But they are our food source. "

"I understand, but in order to live amongst humans, you have to portray behaviors that allow you to blend in. We don't want them to come around and discover you. If you are peaceful, we want you to be able to live here unbothered. Do you agree?"

"We agree," replied Dala, without consulting Rala. 

It was soon agreed that another vehicle would be called to transport the Chameers to Torchwood. They bid the aliens goodbye with promises for Torchwood follow up then hastily left. Their exit was very quick, as Rose and the team could not get out of the house fast enough. Rose saw to it that the transport was staffed by women, women in Tyvek suits that were taped at the ankles and wrists. Later Rose heard that the car had to be fumigated twice after the Chameers were taken to Torchwood. 

Rose and Jake and Claire, the third agent, walked around the corner away from the house before they shed as much clothing as possible and swatted at the insects on them. 

"AUGH!" Rose exclaimed, I feel like I'm covered!" They all stood there and picked bugs off each other, swatting what they could, and shaking everything off for a few minutes before walking back to the van, still occasionally swatting at their clothing. 

When walking back, Rose fell behind the others. 

"Thank you, Doctor," she said into her radio. 

"You're very welcome," Came the deep voice. The voice in her ear was heartwarming and Rose couldn't help but wonder what he looked like. 

"Why do you modulate your voice?" she asked. 

He paused. "How do you know this isn't my real voice?"

She laughed. "There is no way that is your real voice."

She heard a deep chuckle in her ear. "Well I suppose, at this point it's best to keep myself a secret. "

"But why can't I know who you are?"

"I think it's best that I keep myself secret for now... I mean, what I'm doing is a little clandestine. I don't think that your supervisor would like to know that you're getting help. "

"But you are doing such a good job. I mean you're not in the way."

"I know, but for now, Rose Tyler, I'd like you to keep our little arrangement secret."

"Fine, but I'll find out who you are. "

"No, you won't. Now have a nice night, and good work."

"You helped me."

"No, I gave you key information, you applied it. You did the heavy lifting on this. I was just support. You're very good at this. I doubt that Jake and the others were this good this early. "

"You'd never know it."

"I know it. Goodnight now."

"Goodnight, Doctor, until the next one. "

Rose looked ahead and saw that she had fallen about a half block behind the others. Jake was deep in conversation with Claire, no doubt telling her war stories. 

Rose took the minute she had to think. She wondered about the Doctor. Who was he? He said he wasn't someone working for her father, but she wondered. He may be sent by her father to watch over her. That thought made her uneasy. She was capable and had proved herself, but did her father think that she needed help? But then again, he helped her get out of trouble. He saved her life, really. But that night he hadn't meddled, but had just given her information. It was helpful, too. But he wasn't intrusive. But also Rose knew Jake and the other supervisors. If it got out that someone was interfering in the missions, even giving information, he would go nuts. Her division was a proud one, the top of the top. Agents could almost do anything or go anywhere within Torchwood, not that that was a good thing. Rose wasn't happy with how Jake and the others treated some of the other people. She had seen him berate a laundry worker just the other day. But before she could effect change she would have to work herself up the ranks some. No one would listen to a probationary agent. 

But having the Doctor in her ear, that was something that was good for everyone, she also wondered if he had ever worked for someone else. If he did, no one ever had said a word about it. And that voice. Sure it was altered, but even so, it had a warmth to it. She wished he could hear it for real. She found herself trying to guess what he looked like. Then she laughed to herself thinking he may be a balding sixty year old man, who happened to have a good voice. 

She could see up ahead that Jake and Claire were approaching the van and jogged to catch up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is beginning to be a little like high school! Just wait. I'm hoping the holiday will allow me a little extra time to post this week. Fingers crossed!

At noon the next day, John headed down to the cafeteria for lunch. He had finished a project earlier and wasn't too involved to notice that he was getting hungry. Many employees did the same as the Torchwood cafeteria had a wide selection of good food. 

Today he went down to it with his stomach growling. He had been fiddling with something at home, of all things, a laser sighted tape measure, and missed breakfast entirely. He got in line, selected a nice spring salad, grilled cheese sandwich and water and entered his ID for the food to be deducted from his check. Then, tray in hand, he turned around and surveyed the room. 

The tables were long, intended to seat rows of people in a family atmosphere. In his experience, that's not how it usually went, but the idea was good. 

Then he saw her. Rose Tyler was sitting with her back to him, eating all alone.

Should he? 

The answer came almost before he formed the question. Yes, of course he should. He started over to her, only to see someone waving out of the corner of his eye. It was Emma. Feeling a little guilty, he smiled at her but didn't change his trajectory. 

He went around the end of the table, heart picking up its pace, and stood opposite her across the table. "Is anyone sitting here?" he asked. 

Rose looked up, slightly confused, but then a bright smile lit her face. "No, no one is."

"May I join you?" he asked.

"Yes, please," she answered, visibly starting to blush. 

John settled in, picking up his fork. He desperately wanted to think of something witty and interesting, but sitting in front of Rose, he was at a complete loss for words. The good thing was, she seemed to have the same problem. 

He smiled at her broadly, took a breath and went for it. "Come here often?" he asked. 

Rose looked bewildered for a second, then realized what he was doing. She cracked a big smile. "Occasionally, but I find the ambience lacking, and there is almost a complete lack of service. I'd only give it one star, but the food is acceptable. " She pointed to her chicken sandwich and the same salad he had. 

"Oh, I like the salads too," he gushed. 

"Want to know a secret?" she asked.

"Of course," he answered, leaning in. 

"I would absolutely prefer chips, but all the agents are on a healthy kick, so I have to keep up. But I'll get chips on my way home."

"Oh, I love chips, " he beamed. "We should go! There is a great place by my flat. It's by a golf club, so there is a little pond, and the cutest little ducks. "

"I love ducks!"she countered, "Ducks and chips, the perfect da-" she stopped, and cleared her throat. 

John nearly died on the spot. She was going to say "date". He didn't let it show on his face, instead rushing to cover her. "Well if you ever want to go, bring a bag of frozen peas. The ducks love them, bread is bad for them. "

"I didn't know that! Peas it is!" She took a breath. She seemed to be contemplating something. "So John-"

"Hey Tyler, what's happening?" Jakes voice came from over her shoulder. Rose turned and John looked up. Not only was Jake there but about five more team members including Mickey. 

"Just having lunch, Jake," she said, shooting a sympathetic look to John. 

"Well, " Jake said, setting his tray down beside Rose, "we have some mission stuff to talk over." The other agents were filling in around John. Jake was looking at John too. 

"Well, I'll just-" John started.

"Yeah," Jake finished. 

Rose's eyes followed him, "John, you can still sit here."

John gave her another smile, but it didn't light his eyes. "I'm good, thanks for the hospitality, I'll let you all talk shop. " With that he stood, and picked up his tray. Someone instantly took his spot. John's eyes met Emma's again and she motioned him over. She was now sitting with Koshi and some of the other tech people. 

When John set his food down and sat, Koshi turned to him. "See what happens when you try to sit with the cool kids? It never works. It's a natural divide between us and them."

"But why? It doesn't have to be that way," John asked, glancing back to the agents.

"It does, John. Oil and water, that's what we are. I can't even believe you tried it, and with her! I hope you enjoyed it, because you'll never get that close again."

John shook his head. It shouldn't be that way. It was stupid. They were all adults. He chanced another glance at Rose, but she was laughing along with all those around her. What he didn't see was her glance at him only seconds earlier. 

OoOo

When John finished his meal, amid friendly albeit lackluster conversation with Emma and Koshi, John was back at his work space. He had been called down to the archive earlier in the day and had surveyed some new arrivals through the rift. The first one he had determined to be a toy, the second had been some sort of tool for a type of machine he had never seen, but both were irretrievably broken. He saved the toy for further exploration, it may be useful to develop at some time and trashed both the tool and its machine. The last thing, he determined, was some sort of medical device. It his preliminary tests were showing that it might have some sort of tissue regenerating effects. 

He was hunched over his workspace deep in thought and muttering to himself when the tones went off, indicating that the agents had a mission. The sounds nearly made John have a heart attack. He leaned back. His hand on his chest, only to hear Emma chuckle. "Jumpy much?" she asked, still laughing. 

John smiled, breathing hard. "I suppose so, you know how it goes, thinking hard, and someone startles you. He and Emma were now walking toward the door and the inevitable arrival of the agents. John picked up the glasses and Emma the radios. "I suppose you're just lucky I didn't squeal like a little girl. That's happened before when I was in the archives. Someone put their hand on my back when I was working on something. It was something I'd prefer never to repeat."

They hadn't made it to the table where they usually dispersed the equipment, but had stopped and were facing each other. 

Emma was looking intently at him. "Oh, I think you should repeat it, I would get a kick out of it. Maybe I'll try to startle you just to see."

"Oh you would like that, wouldn't you? Me making a squeak? Oh no, I'm going to keep one eye on you at all times from now on. You can't be trusted."

"I'd like th-"she started.

"Ahem, " came a voice by the door. 

John whirled around, only to see Rose patiently waiting for her equipment. 

"Rose! Sorry, we got a little..." he didn't finish, but hustled over to the table, setting out the equipment. Emma was at his side right away, doing the same. 

None of the rest of her team had arrived yet. "Wow, Rose, you're fast, we don't usually expect you for a few more minutes," John said, handing her her optical wear. 

"I was in the neighborhood," she said, without explanation. 

John paused for a moment, wanting to add something when she spoke again. "Hey, at lunch today, I'm sorry." He looked up at her again, only to have her stop her sentence. 

"It's quite alright, Rose Tyler, perhaps we can-" he stopped as the door swung open and the rest of the team entered. At that point the words died in his mouth. 

Because she was facing them, Rose noticed Emma's face drop, though John did not. But she didn't have a chance to pursue the thought, as Jake demanded attention like usual.   
OoOoOo  
Once the tech was handed out, John found himself in a bit of a quandary. The team was now out on a call and it was still the middle of the day. It would be at least 3 hours before the tech room was cleared out. He found himself hovering by the door to the radio room. 

"Why are you listening to this?" Koshi asked behind him. 

"Oh I think there is something to be learned from listening to what they do in the field. We may get a jump on what they need to do better," John lied, but not really. As he was saying it he realized just how valid the statement was.

"They tell us what they need. If you try to tweak it, even for the better, they have a conniption. It's a waste of time, but if you think it's good, fine. You're going to be disappointed. "

John nodded but didn't move. He wasn't agreeing, just acknowledging that he understood Koshi's point. 

When Koshi was moving away, John heard something that made his heart stop. 

"Doctor?" Rose's voice came over the radio.

Then silence. John stood there paralyzed. 

Then, "Doctor, are you there?" 

It took everything he had not to jump to the console. He gripped the door jamb with white knuckles as it was. 

"What do you suppose she's asking?" came Koshi's voice over his shoulder, making John's blood run cold. 

"Who knows? Maybe it's a new codename," John said breezily, turning and forcing himself to step away, and in doing so, Koshi became uninterested and walked away too. 

John sat at this work station, straining to hear what was happening and to his dismay, the op wrapped up fairly easily and was finished by the time the day was over. In fact he was there when the team turned in their gear. He wasn't sure, but he thought that possibly Rose wore a little of a disappointed look, but it may have just been his imagination. 

OoOOO

Saturdays were John's days to scavenge. He was up early, checking for people having sales. He was on the hunt for old components to buy, anything he could use to tinker with. Nothing was safe. For example, he once bought a dental cleaning machine just for the parts in the swing bar. Then over time he used most of the other components too. 

On that day he had struck out at local small sales. No one had anything worth his time. He soon found himself wandering the local big box store checking for what was new, and just generally perusing, letting his mind wander. He had made his way to the radio controlled toy aisle and, picked up new controller in a box and was stepping back when he quite literally bumped into someone.

"Oh!" he said, looking up. 

"John?" asked a sweet voice. He had collided with none other than Rose Tyler. 

"Hi Rose!" he beamed. What brings you to an electronics store on such a beautiful day?"

She smiled back. "I'm just looking for a present for my brother. He just turned 4 and his party is today. But I can't find what I need."

"Well, how may I be of service, Rose? I mean I'm here all the time. I even got invited to their employee picnic last year. "

Rose laughed, "Well then, my problem is that my brother is very smart, and he likes electronic toys. The problem is that he has the mind of a kid older than him, but still the dexterity of a four-year-old. He wants all these complicated toys, but the controllers are too hard for his clumsy little fingers. On top of that, they're too heavy for him. But if I get him something more physically appropriate, it's like a little mouse in a car that runs around. He says that they are baby toys and ends up taking them apart."

John though for a moment. "Sounds like a kid after my own heart. That was me when I was a boy. It drove my mum spare." He scratched his head. "So what you are saying, is what you need is an older kid toy with an younger kid controller."

"Yes. I mean, look at this, "She reached out and pulled a box from the shelf. "It's a truck that converts to a dinosaur. This could not be more perfect for him, but look at the controller, it's big, I mean this toy does a ton of stuff, but he can't get his little fingers to do what it needs. See?" she pointed to the box."It says ten and up. He does not have ten year old hands."

John took the box from her, peering in. "Well let me think." He turned the box over in his hands a couple of times. "C'mon." He motioned with his head, starting down the aisle.

Rose followed him to a counter where there were the employees showed people things. He put the box on it and promptly opened it. 

"John, do you think you should-" she started.

"Hi John!" said a cheery voice," what are you looking at today?"

Rose looked up to a see a smiling sales person. She looked a little younger than Rose, but was the definition of perky. 

"Oh Hi, Amanda, we just need a better look at this toy. "

"That's one of our best sellers. It's got really good quality. The only complaint I hear is that it's a little complicated to operate. I've played with it myself though, its a lot of fun. "

John now had the controller out. "I see that. But I'll bet you I can do a few tweaks to make it easier. It's not that complex of a setup. "

"I don't know, it looks pretty complex to me," Amanda said, leaning closer to John. 

Rose leaned in too. She didn't know why, but Amanda's interest in John and the toy sparked her interest. 

"Do you think you can fix it?" Rose asked. 

Amanda leaned back, eyeing Rose. "John can fix anything, He added a camera to my friend Wil's drone for night vision and added the operations of it to the controller. He's very talented. " She crossed her arms. 

Rose crossed her arms too. "But this is for a little kid, a very smart little kid."

"I'm sure he can dumb it down as much as he needs to. "

Rose felt her ire rising and was about to say something to level the perky little kitten in front of her when John said, "I think I can have this ready, I have some stuff at home that I can take off a few settings or make them automatic. I have a smaller controller to. You need it by tonight?" He looked up at Rose and then to Amanda, quizzically, but completely unaware of the shooting match that was in front of him. 

Rose nodded. "Yeah, the party's at five."

"Great, plenty of time!" he was stuffing the components back in the box. "Thank you Amanda, I'll probably see you next week."

Amanda had a dreamy look on her face, after she stopped glaring at Rose. "Yes, we'll see you then. I-We have some new things coming in, be sure to come by."

"I will!" he called over his shoulder. 

Rose had to walk fast to keep up with him. "Boy, you really have a fan in that one," she said. 

John looked perplexed. "Who, Amanda? Nah, she's just a nice girl. "

Rose smiled to herself. He had no idea how charming he was and how he nearly hypnotized the girls around him. She had seen it with Emma too. It bothered her a lot, too, though she was trying very hard not to admit it. When he had sat in front of her at lunch she had been elated. But of course along came Jake and the others. She would have liked nothing more than to have a nice lunch with John. He was funny and cute, well beyond that, dare she say sexy? No matter how she saw him, he always looked great, usually a little confused or befuddled, but great. And when he smiled, her heart did little flips. That as why she had been close the other day when she had gotten a call. She had been hovering close, trying to get the courage to go in, just to talk to him. Maybe it was to apologize for lunch, maybe it was to ask him question, but all she knew was that she wanted to be near him. 

Before she knew it, John had checked out. He hadn't even given her a chance to buy the toy. "John, I was going to by that. What are you doing?"

"I'm going to tinker with it, if I break it, I don't want you stuck with it. "

"But it's for my brother." 

"I know. But let me try to fix it first. "

"Fine. How long do you think it will take? I can come over and get it."

He shook his head. "It'll take all of the time until five, let me drop it off. "

"Are you sure? " she asked.

"Of course. "

"Do you know where the house is?"

"You mean the Tyler mansion? Everyone knows that. Just be sure to give my name to the guards at the gate. I'll be there at five."

"You don't have to do this, you know."

"Yes I do! We can't let smart little boys play with toys that are beneath them! It's a travesty!"

"It sounds like an issue you're familiar with."

"Oh, Rose Tyler, I could tell you stories, but I have to get started on this. I'll see you tonight!"

Rose gave him an odd look and John froze. She looked like she was recalling something. Suddenly John realized that as the Doctor he had said her name just like that. But a second later, she gave a little head shake as if dismissing the thought and John breathed again. She smiled at him. "OK John, bye for now"

"I'll see you soon," he said, turning to to. John took a few steps away. Then tuned . "Wait!"

Rose turned back. "Yeah?"

"Can I have you number in case something goes wrong?"

"Of course." She reached for his phone, which he unlocked and handed to her. She quickly put in her number and sent herself a text so she would have his. She handed it back. "There you go, I'll see you tonight. "

"Oh yes!" with that he turned quickly and hustled away. What she couldn't see was that he was hiding a blush and an enormous smile. He had her number now, and she had his.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy whatever you celebrate. Here's a bit of fluff for a present!

Once home, John dove into his work. It was hard though, pulling his brain from thoughts of Rose Tyler. She wasn't like the others, she was not only smart, but she was her own person. He hoped though, that the others wouldn't poison her with the dislike of tech people. 

He just couldn't push the thoughts of Rose back, so he decided to instead move the thoughts of her to another part of his brain. He had been able to process multiple things at once since he was a child, and did it frequently, letting himself metabolize a complicated problem in the back of his mind while working on other things on the forefront. 

He toiled on the toy for a solid three hours until his mobile dinged, causing him to jump. He grumbled, picking it up, only to smile. It was a text from Rose. "Hi, it's Rose, I was just checking on you. Is it going OK? No pressure, though..."

John typed back,"It's going well. I should have it ready on time."

"I can still come get it if you want, you shouldn't have to drive to drop it off. "

"Seriously, no issue. I'm an engineer, if I don't get myself out periodically, I tend to be a hermit. " 

"LOL, OK then I'll see you soon."

He set the phone down, though now smiling, and began to work again when it dinged again. He sighed an reached for it. If he kept getting interrupted he would never finish. But when he saw that she had texted him again he didn't mind. He unlocked his phone. "You know, instead of being a hermit, you can come to the party." She followed it with a party hat emoji. 

Johns heart clicked up about ten notches. Or course with his heart rate went his anxiety. He texted back. "It's alright, might scare the four-year-olds. " Typing it felt bad, but he hadn't prepared for this, in the home of his boss, with a woman he liked, it spelled disaster. 

After another moment his phone dinged again. "No four-year-olds other than my brother. It's a family party. We had the crazy one yesterday. It'll be very calm, just food and laughs. Consider it, will you?"

He stalled, his thumbs ready to type. Then, before he could stop himself, he texted back. "We'll see, but I have to finish this first. "

"Ok let me know," she texted back. 

Now John had an entirely different thing to ponder as he worked. He picked up the solder iron, hunching even farther over the circuit board in his hands. He should go, but what if it was all the people from her team? He would feel like a fish out of water if that was the case. They weren't exactly welcoming. But on the other hand, he wanted to explain the toy to her brother. Maybe he should go for a little while. Then again, being there was bound to make him feel uncomfortable. He wasn't very good in social situations. And if her team was there...

All the while he was warring with himself, his fingers moved deftly and swiftly, putting the final touches on the box quickly. He had made a few of the functions of the toy easier to operate, adjusted a few switches, and moved others for easy access. He housed the controls in a much smaller and lighter box and simplified the switches. He added a few buttons that could be locked instead of being held down also. It was still a complicated device, and would take the boy a little while to master, but as it was he wouldn't have been able to operate it. He also made it impact resistant in case it was dropped. Lastly he only removed one element. Initially it was able to breathe fire, why anyone would believe that a tyrannosaurus would breathe fire was beyond him, but allowing a 4 year-old to use it could be disastrous. Then, of course, why would a dinosaur transform into a truck, or vice versa? He chuckled to himself. 

He finished just in time. In fact, all of his thought processes finished together. Those things were: his controller, he had decided to try to go to the party, and when it was all over, he had decided to ask Rose out. The last two things put a battalion of butterflies in his stomach. 

The controller now wouldn't fit in the box properly, so he loaded up the dinosaur/truck, and left the controller outside, then set both of the things in a bigger, plain box. 

He sent a quick text to Rose. "I'm on my way." He didn't get a text back, but figured she was busy. 

OooO

John arrived at the Tyler mansion at 4:55, parked next to an impressive array of cars, and took his box to the front door. He rang the bell and waited. 

Rose answered the door moments later with a big smile. 

John nearly balked. She looked amazing. He had only seen her in standard issue Torchwood gear, but now she wore a light summer dress that showed off everything, her toned body, just enough cleavage and all her curves. 

He nearly dropped the box. 

"Uh, h-hi Rose."

"Hi John!" she said back, "I'm glad you came, can you stay-"  
She barely got the words out before little hands came up to the right side of her waist and pushed her aside, not harshly, but insistently. A little towheaded boy appeared. He wore a curious expression. "Is this him?" he asked excitedly, nearly vibrating with excitement. 

Her hand came down to his head affectionately and she looked down. "Yes Tony, this is my friend, John. Can you say hello to him?"

Tony looked up at John. "Hello, did you bring my dinosaur?"

"Tony!" Rose admonished. 

John smiled. "No, Rose, it's nothing." His eyes went to the boy. "Yes, Tony have your dinosaur, but there is so much more to it. I'd like to show you how to use it. "

"I figure things out fast," he boy responded.

"Great, then we'll get along well." He looked back to Rose. "Rose, is there anywhere I can explain it to him?"

"Does that mean you're staying?" she asked

"Uh, I guess," he answered. 

Rose led them inside, Tony insisted on carrying the box, remarking the whole time about its contents. They went through the kitchen, where a chef was preparing food. John's mouth started to water, he hadn't eaten all day, since he had been so involved in his work. But there was no stopping. Rose walked them down a few rooms until she got to a big open room, that was clearly a playroom. Toys were in boxes and bins throughout and there was a big screen TV on the wall. It was tidy, like it had been recently cleaned. 

Rose showed them to a table situated in the corner and John helped Tony heft the box onto it. Tony then scrambled into a chair. 

"Ok, Tony let me show you how it works. " John said, pulling out the dinosaur. He set it on the table top and handed Tony the controls. "Now, this is to move it forward..." he indicated a lever and the dinosaur moved causing Tony to squeal in delight. John quickly showed him some of the other functions and then set it on the floor. Soon Tony had it going all around the room. 

Then John said. "Tony, there is one more thing. Now, push this and this together, then just watch!" John had leaned over the boy. 

Tony did as he was told, his mouth going agape a he saw the dino turning into the truck. 

"No way!" he yelled, jumping up and down. 

"Yes way!" John countered over Tony's gleeful noises. 

Tony went about converting from truck to dino and back, and Rose stepped up close to John. "Thank you, this is perfect. He loves it."

"My pleasure, Rose Tyler, the conversion wasn't hard. "

That same wisp of recognition crossed her face and John chided himself. But it was just too hard not to say that to her. Rose recovered quickly. "What did you do to it?" she asked, looking back at the toy that was currently in mid-transition again.

"Well, I changed the controller to one that was lighter and easier for little hands to operate. Then I combined a few of the functions so they were more straightforward. The best part is, if he still likes it when he is older, I can reinstate a few of the advanced features or switch back to the original controller. "

She turned and looked at him straight in the face, her face incredulous." You're a genius."

"Yes," he answered a little too fast. Then sucked in a breath as she laughed. "I mean-"

"It's OK to be a genius. But by admitting it, you now have to be responsible for anything I break, so I'll be visiting you frequently."

He gave her a goofy grin. "I'd like that. " he said, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. 

There was an insistent tapping on John's hip. "Hey, hey... I forgot your name." John smiled down at Tony. 

"My name's John," he said, before Rose could admonish her brother again. "What do you need?"

"Does this truck run on dirt?" the boy asked. 

John knelt down to eye level with him. "Why yes it does, but I imagine we should keep it inside for tonight, but let me show you a few more things-"

"Rose!" a slightly screechy voice echoed throughout the house. "Rose! Jake's here!"

Beside Rose, John stiffened. 

"I'll be right there!" Rose called out the door. She turned to John. "You want to come out and eat with us?"

John looked to Tony, still trying to figure out his present and back to Rose. "I think I'll stay here for a little bit, you know, make sure he knows what he's doing."

"K, but come out after a while. We have a lot of food. There's going to be a lot of people here from Torchwood. It'll be fun."

John nodded. "Yeah, I'll be out in a little while."

Rose bopped Tony on the head. "You two don't stay too long in here,Tony. Jake's here now, and there will be more presents. "

"Uh huh," Tony answered, distracted. 

"Seriously you two, only about ten more minutes."

"OK," they answered simultaneously. 

Once Rose had stepped out, John spoke to tony."I guess I should show you a few more things then we should go out."

Tony sighed. "I know, but I don't like Jake or her friends. They either get me baby toys or guns. Once my friend Joey shot me with a Nerf gun. It hurt. I don't like guns."

"Me neither, buddy." John said, leaning over to show Tony another function.   
OoOoOo  
True to form, John lost track of time. He was having a great time with Tony. The boy was smart beyond his years, and figured out few things the toy could do as a dinosaur and a truck. Then Rose came back to tell them to come eat, she found them side by side on the carpet, legs crossed, having an animated conversation and laughing. 

"Boys," Rose said above their laughter, making them both turn in unison to look at her. 

Rose burst out laughing. They both had the same expression on their faces. 

"What?" John asked.

"It's time to eat," she answered. 

"Aww, but I'm not done playing,"Tony whined. 

"You're never done playing," his sister countered. 

John hopped up. "C'mon Tony, don't ya think it's time for 'Dinotruck' to meet the rest of your guests?"

Rose raised an eyebrow and John smiled devilishly at her.  
OoOoOo  
Dinotruck made its debut by driving into the living room as a truck, then converting and roaring. Tony stood in the doorway laughing and everyone cheered. John hung back, watching from a few feet away. The room was filled with adults and teenagers, ostensibly family and friends. John recognized Pete Tyler, the director of Torchwood, and Jake Simmons, and a few others. 

He watched quietly as he felt someone walk up close to him and put a hand on his shoulder. 

He turned to see Rose. "Thank you, John, This is perfect for Tony."

"He's a smart kid. It's a pleasure."

"I need to pay you for it."

He shook his head. "Nah, my treat. I had fun with it. "

"But I feel like I owe you."

He waved a hand in front of him. "Eh, just buy me coffee."

"What, every day for 200 days?"

He smirked. "If you want."

Rose blushed, but then heard a female voice from the kitchen. "Rose! Did you eat?"

"I'm coming!" she called. But then she made John's day, she reached for his arm and tugged her up to him. "C'mon, you can meet my mum."

Somehow that statement was tremendously foreboding. 

OoOoo

It wasn't as bad as he thought. Everyone else had eaten, allowing Rose and John to sit at the kitchen table and eat, with only a few questions from her mum. Mostly her mum, Jackie, dominated the conversation and John listened. It was funny having a little insight into the Tyler household. Rose seemed totally at ease, which was good considering his anxiety. He had been right though, the more he heard Rose talk, he saw that she was very smart, but at the same time really funny and considerate. 

He ate everything Jackie threw at him, which was a fair amount, just listening to the mother and daughter talk. He could have stayed there forever. 

After a while, a servant came and cleared the plates, and John looked at his watch, careful to not overstay his welcome, and Rose stood to help gather some of the other dinner things. 

John was standing too, when none other than Pete Tyler came in, holding his son, who was holding the Dino truck. 

"John, right? John Smith?" he asked, setting Tony down to shake John's hand. 

"Yes, Director Tyler."

Pete smiled. "You can call me Pete., Especially in my own house."

"Ok, Pete," John answered carefully.

"Well anyway John," Pete picked up the toy from Tony. "The Dinotruck seems to have an issue, My son here decided to ram it into a table and now it only wants to turn right."

John took the toy while glancing at a sullen faced Tony. "Well, Tony, let me take a look. " He turned the toy, now in truck form, over. "Oh, don't worry, it just needs a little adjustment." He pushed on something, and there was a little "clink" sound. 

"There, all better, you just knocked something off." He set the truck back down and Tony squealed when it took off with no problems. 

In the time it took to fix the truck people began to wander back into the kitchen. John was getting ready to make his escape when Jake walked in, his eyes falling on John. "Well hello there John, I thought that was you. Did we have some tech break? " he asked, sauntering over to John with a smirk.

"Jake," Rose interrupted,with warning in her tone, "John is the one that made the Dinotruck work for Tony." 

"Oh, so it was a tech thing." Jake drawled. 

John drew a breath to say something not very nice but bit his tongue instead. Luckily, Pete distracted Jake asking him something. Rose shot John a apologetic look. He gave her a weak smile back, before her mother needed her attention and John slipped out to find Tony. 

As adult parties do, the attention slipped farther from Tony, though he was given a fair amount, but conversations got louder, a pool game and darts started in another room and music started. John had spent his time with Tony, making sure the boy had a good handle on the toy and how not to break things with it. Soon though, he felt it was time to go. He hadn't seen Rose in a while, and he was beginning to feel a little anxious about being there, especially since running into Jake. 

John wasn't easily undone by much, but Jake seemed to have a special key. Normally, his comments were directed to Koshi, but it was clear that Jake would try to show dominance over anyone he could. That sort of personality grated on John, even if he was not the target. 

"Tony," John said, "hey it's time for me to go. " They had made it back into the playroom and Tony had been trying to get the truck to run over some blocks. 

"Aw John, but I like playing with you. No one ever plays with me, " the boy whined. 

"Not even Rose?" he asked.

"Well she does, but not when her friends are here," the boy answered sullenly. 

John knelt down. "Well we'll just have to set up another playdate, but I have to ask Rose. "

Tony instantly brightened. "Alright!" 

"But now I have to go I have things to do at home." John said, now standing. 

"OK bye," Tony waved, but then shocked John by locking his arms around his legs and hugging him. "Thank you for Dinotruck. "

"You're welcome, but it was your sister's gift to you."

"But you made it," the boy said, now back to running the truck. 

John smiled and tousled the boy's hair and heading out. "Now go find your dad or mum OK?"

"OK," Tony answered, steering the truck out of the room. 

On his way out, John managed to avoid all the others. He wanted to say goodbye to Rose, but he could hear her voice in a room filled with people and somehow he just didn't feel like interrupting her and her friends. It was weird, it's not like she was a different person around everyone, especially Jake, but John found that in that environment, he just didn't want to be around her. It wasn't her per se, but everyone else. He frowned as he heard a raucous cheer from the room. Nah, he would be bothering her, he figured as he made his way to the door. 

He had nearly closed it behind him when he heard her call. "John! Wait!"

He turned to see her jogging up. 

"Are you leaving already?" she asked.

"Yeah, I have a few things to do."

"You won't even stay for a beer?"

"Nah, and besides, Simmonds isn't super fond of me, I don't want it to be awkward."

"Oh, he's all bark and no bite. But I know you have to go, just know you are welcome to stay. "

"Thanks, Rose Tyler, perhaps another time." He waved, stepping off one of the steps. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight John." she said, waving back.

John then walked towards his car. It wasn't until he was nearly there when he heard her go back inside. It wasn't until John was almost home when he remembered that he had forgotten on ask her out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want some fun? Sure why not? My weekend is a little busy, so I figured I'd do Sunday's installment toady. You're welcome. Fluff ahead!

John was nearly done with his home dispatch unit. This would allow him to follow calls when he was at home and also not risk being caught at work. There were a few components to get though, but he had seen some radio parts in the storage of the tech room. It was just a matter of "acquiring" them. Which wouldn't be an issue, since it looked like no one had touched the stuff in years. 

He was back at it early Monday morning, examining the components for the tissue healing unit. He was meticulous about taking it apart, documenting where everything went, taking pictures along the way. 

"What do you have there?" said a sweet voice over his shoulder. 

This time, thankfully John didn't squeal or do anything unmanly. He did spin in his chair, his eyes landing on a very well shaped body. His eyes flicked up, meeting the whiskey colored ones of Rose Tyler, who wore a bright smile. She held out an insulated paper cup. "I didn't know what kind of coffee you liked, so I guessed."

He took the cup. "Thank you!" he gushed, "What brought this on?"

"Don't you remember? I owe you coffee forever now. I don't go back on my word."

John took a sip. "Mmm this is perfect. Again, thank you."

"No problem, what are you working on?" She leaned over his desk, careful to keep her own coffee by her side. 

"Oh, I think it's some sort of tissue healing device. But before I test it on anything, I have to figure out how it works, and if it has any side effects. "

"So you can't just aim it at a cut and see what it does?"

John chuckled. "I need to make sure it won't burn the user, emit too much radiation or give the person using it superpowers, you know the usual."

This time Rose laughed. "Can I be first in line if it gives you super powers?" She stepped back, smiling at him. 

John met her eyes. "And what, pray tell, superpowers would Rose Tyler want?" 

"I wouldn't mind x-ray vision, or maybe have the ability to fly."

"No mind reading powers?" he asked.

She wrinkled her nose and John nearly died of cuteness. His heart leapt and he had to stifle a giggle. Rose had moved on to shaking her head. "No way, you know who I work with, I am completely grossed out and I'm only GUESSING what they're thinking. "

John laughed back. "I can only imagine, but you'll be the first one I tell if I figure out that it cam make you fly."

"Yay! Well I better get to work, I'll see you later!" She gave him a little wave. 

John stood to face her. "Thank you for the coffee. But you don't have to bring it everyday forever." She frowned, and he balked. "I-I mean, you'll more than pay for Dinotruck within a year. So it doesn't have to be forever. 

Rose brightened again. "Well at least a couple of times a week. If I get coffee I'll get it for you too. Do you have any preferences?"

"Anything you get will be fine." 

Their moment was interrupted by the unceremonious entrance of Koshi, who stopped when he saw Rose, eyeing her suspiciously. 

"I'll see you later, John," Rose said hastily. 

"See ya." 

Rose turned and left, under the weighted gaze of Koshi. "What was she doing here?"

"She's just paying me back for a favor I did for her."

Koshi turned back to John. "Well be careful, those guys are always looking for something."

"Not everyone is out to get you, Koshi. "

"Bull," retorted Koshi, heading to his work station. 

OoOo  
Rose had a full day of training ahead of her. One thing for sure, the teams were always ready. Not only did they have ballistic training, but a full hour of hand to hand combat, a full workout, and then briefings on recent events. She actually looked forward to their calls, it was actually a chance to focus and use her skills. 

That day was no different from the rest. With one exception. She couldn't get her mind off John Smith. He was so funny and humble, and on top of that dead sexy. But he was sweet too, like he had no idea what kind of a catch he was. His obliviousness was more apparent in the presence of that girl, Emma. She was openly flirting with him and he had no idea. Well, Rose supposed that was better for her. But why? What was she after? She had no answer to that. All she knew, was that she was going to enjoy bringing John his coffee whenever she could. She knew from day one that the agents and the tech people didn't get along. But there was no good reason for it. It seemed that the only reason for the rift between them was ego. But things like that didn't seem to matter to John, and she liked that. She liked the idea of someone who didn't get hung up on social things. 

Her reverie was broken by the boisterous entrance of her team, ready to begin the day's activities.   
OoOoOo  
John had an interesting day as well. He had thought that he was just going to be working on his projects, but late in the afternoon found himself called down to the holding facility to deal with a new arrival. One of the teams had found something, an alien, but a small one. They were alerted to its ear piercing scream. That scream was what brought John down there. He was tasked with sound proofing the cage that it was in, so the technicians could try to identify it. 

As it was, it was far too loud, and the noise intensified when anyone got close to it. Once one person had eardrum damage, they backed off. John, now donning high level hearing protection, approached the cage housing it. He couldn't help but smile at it, as it was adorable. It was about the size of a kitten but shaped like a platypus, but with a pointed beak. It's mouth was open now, making its noise. It was black mostly, but with a white head, and covered with a thick fur. It cowered in the back of the cage, emitting its cry, which thankfully John could not hear. 

His experience at Torchwood had led him to identify a lot of species, and his encyclopedic brain allowed him to remember the creatures for easy recall. This one took a little longer to recognize. "Hello little fella," he crooned, "it's a little warm in here for you, isn't it?" He stepped back then and looked around. There was a fan attached to someone's computer monitor a few feet away and he removed it, moving it to the animal and turning it back on, aiming the air at it. The effect was immediate, the little guy relaxed considerably, its mouth relaxing and closing. 

Cautiously, John removed his ear protection. He noise was gone. He heard the door to the area open and saw a few technicians creep in, their ear protection in their hands, ready for quick deployment. 

"It's OK," John said to them. " Does anyone have any biscuits? Or maybe crackers? I think this may be a krepta, they're omnivores, but like a cracker. I saw one years ago while doing a study in the field. I think this one is a young one. The noise is a beacon for its mother, a distress call. It's probably scared. Also, it likes a cool climate. It has thick fur, so you need to keep it cool. "

"Will it start, screaming again?" asked a clearly rattled technician, holding out a sleeve of saltine crackers, which John took. 

John removed a cracker and slid it though the bars of the cage, where it was quickly scooped up by the krepta. It then sat back and brought the food to its mouth, eating much like a squirrel would. 

John turned back. "I think it will scream less now that it's a little more comfortable. But you need to call down for a plate of vegetables for it to eat. In the mean time I'll put something together to save your ears. 

The technicians thanked him and as he was leaving, he heard the familiar tones of a call out and ran back to the lab. It wasn't like anyone else couldn't hand out the tech, but he wanted to be there, it was another chance to see Rose. 

Unfortunately for him, when he got back there, the team was leaving. They seemed to be moving faster than normal. Rose gave him a bright smile though, as she jogged past him. 

This call was again at the end of the work day, but John wished he had his home setup going, it would be easier to work without the threat of being caught. But soon enough, everyone cleared out, and left him hunched over his work area, which he jumped up from and went to the radio room. He quickly turned everything on, and typed his message "Switch to channel 2" to Rose. Then he waited. 

He didn't have to wait long. "Doctor?" Rose's voice said over the radio. 

"At your service", droned the almost too deep modulated voice. 

"Where were you the other day? I tried to call you."

"I can't always be here, I ... Have some other obligations, but be sure if I can be there I will be. Did you have any problems?"

"No, I just like having you in my ear. "

John smiled at this. "And I like having you in mine."

He wiped his face. Was he flirting, on the radio, when she was on an op? He shook his head. "What's your call for today?" he asked. 

"You don't know?" she asked back.

He smacked his forehead. That was dumb. She thought he worked for Torchwood, he should know. He almost blew it.

"I mean, what specifically are you doing? I was busy while you were getting the details." Oh, that was smooth-- not. 

Rose didn't seem to notice. "Well, as you know. We are investigating a loud screeching sound. It doesn't sound mechanical, but animal. The police couldn't get close enough so they called us. "

"Tell me you have ear protection," John quickly answered. He knew right away what was happening. 

"Of course, our tech department is really good. " That made John smile. 

"Oh Hi, Claire, are we together?" Rose's voice sounded over the radio. John could hear a muffled answer. "Yeah, Jake said there would be another team joining us and that we would be going out in pairs. Ok, we have the western half of this building, so let's get to it." 

John knew right away that any conversation he would have with Rose for this point forward would be one sided. That made him a little sad. He really liked talking to her, even though she didn't know who he was, at least not in this way. But her being paired up was inevitable. 

So John communicated with Rose as he felt he needed to. This was not a complicated mission, find the sound, fix the problem, so he didn't need to much. He had downloaded the building plans and gave he a hint here and there, but she mostly had it handled. She was closing in on it though. John knew what it was it was the same as the krepta he had just been with. He wondered though if it was another baby. 

His question was answered when she removed a vent panel and found the creature. It was bigger than the other in Torchwood. He could see it vocalizing. It must be the mother. Fortunately the tech department had given them ear protection that went on over their ear pieces so they could talk on the radio. "Rose," he said into her ear. "I'll be right back, just let her sit for a moment. Back off a little to let her know you aren't a threat."

"OK," Rose answered quietly, but John could barely hear her over the noises coming from the little alien. 

John was up in a flash, to the breakroom with and into the cabinet that housed the community biscuits. Then he was out of the room. 

The technicians in the holding facility were a little surprised when John came back in to see the krepta. But they hadn't gotten the vegetables up yet, so when he recorded himself on his phone, well just his hand, giving the little guy a biscuit, no one said anything. The baby seemed quite happy with his treat too. He hadn't made any noise now that the place was cooler and he was fed. John ended his recording and ran back up to the radio room. 

"Rose, " he said after catching his breath. Do you know what you have found?"

"It's a 7154 being? It hasn't been assigned a name yet, isn't it? Jake thought that's what it was. " John could barely hear her over the noise. 

"No, 7154s have more of a unibrow."

Rose laughed. "Then what is it? Oh, not you Claire, I'm talking to someone else. "

During this exchange, John was busy emailing himself the video he just took ."It's a krepta. But the 7152 was a good guess. They also vocalize loudly."

"You said she, it's a female?"

"Yes."

"I'm looking at her now, she seems sad. She didn't move when I opened the vent. Is something wrong with her?"

"Rose, do you have your phone on you?"

'Yes, why?"

"I'm going to send you something. Show it to her. Then you need to see if you can pick her up. Be gentle. Please don't stuff her in a cage. " John hurriedly emailed himself the video and then sent it to her with a generic Torchwood account. 

He could see through her camera that she was rustling around. "Ok, I've got my phone. Oh, it's a video. "

"Play it for her. "

He saw Rose's hand stick out and aim the screen at the krepta. The little being tilted its head back and forth in interest then the vocalizing stopped. 

"Doctor, it stopped. "

"I know. "

Rose turned the video back so she could see it and played it again. "You have the baby? " she said to the being, then, ostensibly to John, "Is she a mum?" 

"Yes, I showed her I fed it a biscuit."

"Was that your very manly hand I saw?"

John stalled, the she would not have known where the video came from, but he didn't think about the fact that his hand was in the video.There was no turning back now. "Yes, and it was quite manly, wasn't it?" he needed to change her focus, quickly. "Uh, is Claire going to get suspicious with us talking like this?"

"No, actually she just stepped out. She'll just think I'm weird. "

John laughed. 

"Doctor, how do I pick her up?"

"Believe it or not, this is a very docile species. If you hold out your hand, she'll just hop onto it. Be careful bringing her in. Maybe give her a crate to sit in, but make it open. "

"Doctor, you know we're going to have to hold them both until they're cleared. "

He sighed, but not into the microphone. "I know, but at least they'll be together. Then you all can work on a plan to get them home or at least to a safe place. "

"I'll make sure," she assured him. "Claire's coming back, I need to go. I'll see, well hear, you on the next one!"

"Goodnight, Rose," John signed off. He thought about the fact that the mother and baby would be reunited. Then he realized that he had been a very real presence in the holding area, twice. All she would have to do was ask. 

He ran down to where the baby was, the technician on duty was different than who had been there initially when the baby was crying, but the same from when he came down just before. Quickly he spun a story about how the agents would be mad if they knew he fed the baby (a lie). Then he quickly slid the technician a 20 pound note. He would have to do the same for the day crew in the morning. 

His bribes in place, he left quickly. He was in his car again when the teams pulled up and was able to escape easily. That night John was able to finish his home radio/visual unit. He had had to totally upgrade his home internet just to get it to work, but now it was in place. He set it up so that when a team got an alarm, he got a notification on his phone. That one was easy, because all he had had to to was convince Koshi that he wanted to do the equipment dispersal and that Emma could help. But he needed a way to know. Koshi had been more than happy to hand over that set of duties. 

Over the next several days, the teams were busy, mostly at night. John was able to use his home unit three times with Rose. They were all fairly benign calls, reports of weird flashing lights and such, but they kept John up. Even though he wasn't much of a sleeper, he did need a few hours. Over those next few days, he grew thankful for the cups of coffee Rose brought when she came in. They arrived later than normal if she had been out the night before, but he was grateful nonetheless. 

He was right though, after he had gone to bribe the day crew in the holding area, he heard that none other than Rose Tyler was asking a lot of questions about who had been there feeding the baby krepta. None of them caved though, feigning ignorance that came easily with a lot of techs working all the time. 

Towards the end of the week John was elbow deep at his workspace when he again had coffee thrust into his view. He had made tremendous progress on the tissue healer and was getting ready to send it for testing when a large white cup obscured his vision. He turned and looked up, like usual to see Rose Tyler, wearing a big smile. 

"Why thank you!" he exclaimed. 

"My pleasure," she answered, giggling. "I have to run, I'll see you later."

With that she gave a cute wave and headed out. John watched her the entire way, while sipping his coffee. How did she possibly know what he wanted and when? The coffee was always perfect, maybe just because it was coming from her. 

At lunch that day, John ventured into the cafeteria. He hadn't been back since Jake had made him uncomfortable, but he had forgotten to eat breakfast again, and his stomach growling was becoming embarrassing. He hated to leave for lunch, because it always took too long to get to his car and then back in. This time he chose to bring his laptop, he had some emails to read and take care of, so he chose a table for two in the back corner and just hoped no one would bug him. That was quickly not the case. 

He had been there, eating his hamburger, when the chair opposite him pulled back. He looked up with a start to see Rose Tyler, holding her tray with a salad on it. 

He smiled at first at seeing her, but then schooled his features, the last time had not gone well. "Hi Rose, " he said with all the enthusiasm he could muster. 

"Hi John, do you mind if I sit?"

He looked at her, then looked around the room. She caught on quickly. "It's safe, the team went out for lunch. We won't get interrupted. "

He smiled and motioned to the chair. "Please then, sit. "

She sat while he closed and removed his laptop. "I suppose I should apologize for last time you were here with me. Jake can be such a dick. I don't know why he perpetuates the rift between our departments. It's stupid. "

"I agreed, but Koshi is just as bad. I wish we could just work together. "

"I know. Maybe you and I can be a start?"

John raised an eyebrow. 

Rose blushed. "I mean if the two of us can be friends, maybe we can make it better between all of us. It's a start anyway."

"It's a start," he repeated. 

Rose tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. She looked a little nervous. "Um John, so are you going to the gala on Saturday?"

"I haven't heard of anything," he answered, shaking his head. 

"How could you not, there are posters everywhere?"

"I'm a bit if a hermit, remember?"

She laughed. "And the emails? There have been a ton of those too. To what extent are you a hermit?"

"To the maximum extent allowed by civilized society," he answered with a wink.

Rose blushed harder. "Well, on Saturday is the big Torchwood/Vitex gala. It's my dad's way of thanking the employees of both places. They have a dinner, a dance and give out awards. It's loads of fun. You should go."

"Oh, I don't know, it would go against the hermit code and all-" he started.

"I'll save a dance for you," she paused, "you know, if you want."

Oh did he want. "Ok, you talked me into it."

"Good!" she said, her voice now impossibly brighter and happier. Though of course he didn't think it could have logically gotten either. "I'm on call until five that day, so hopefully if we get anything, we can wrap it up in time to get ready. Keep your fingers crossed that that day remains alien-free."

"I will," he said, already crossing his fingers under the table. He took a sip of his drink with his free hand and looked at her. Now he had a bit of a problem. He was seated across from Rose Tyler, who was looking at him expectantly, then down to her salad, and he had absolutely nothing to say. He had been talking to her a fair amount, but mostly as the Doctor. It seemed that that was their only current common ground. But then he somehow remembered through his stupor, "How is Dinotruck? Has he taken it apart yet?"

Rose's face lit up again. She had just taken a bite of salad in the awkward silence that that stretched between them, and had to swallow. She did, and wiped her mouth. "No, he loves it. I thought for sure he had killed it l when I was home the other night. He had it in truck mode, tried to get it to go down the staircase and then when it bounced, tried to convert it to the dinosaur in the air. But nothing happened. He yelled so loud when he did it, my mum came running. Then he got in trouble for causing a ruckus. But boy you made that thing sturdy. It converted a second later."

John laughed," When I make something, or adapt something in this case, I try to make it 'John proof'. If I can't break it, no one can, at least beyond minor repair. That thing he did at his party was a fluke, I guess when he rammed the table he must have hit it just right. But seriously, that thing is bomb proof. "

"So I should bring you any toy I'm getting for him to you first?"

"Naturally!" he enthused. 

From there they fell into an easy conversation, mostly centered around Tony and his various exploits. It was clear to see that she was very fond of the lad, even given their age difference. It warmed his heart to hear her talk, in more ways than one. She was so intelligent and kind, and he just loved it. But also he couldn't help but think that he was getting closer to her, and that was good. Maybe he would actually have the guts to ask her for the aforementioned dance. He had some ground to make up anyway, especially after forgetting to ask her out at the party, he had lost his confidence to ask her out since.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the calm before the storm. I suggest fortifying your positions, it's about to get real. But first, a little fluff.

Rose got a text summoning her to meet up with her team just as she was finishing her salad. Her lunch with John, as impromptu as it was, was amazing. She knew that she was beginning to like him, but this only solidified it. It also solidified her notion that she wanted to get to know him better. After she bid him goodbye and cleared her tray, she stepped out into the hall. At that point she was struck with a wave of anxiety. She had just effectively asked John to the gala. Sure it was informal, but she also asked him for a dance. Now she had to muster the courage to do it. 

She had been to the gala many times, in different capacities. This was the first time she would go as a full fledged Torchwood employee and team member, and not just Pete Tyler's daughter. So not only would eyes be on her, but she now wanted to dance with John, a tech guy, in front of everyone. She could feel the eyes on her even as she thought about it. 

She squared her shoulders. One dance couldn't hurt, could it? It wasn't like they were dating. Not that she would have minded it, but for right now, a dance between friends was a good goal. If the other stuff came, it came. But she couldn't help hoping it would . 

OoOoOo

The agents at Torchwood had a pretty calm week. There were a few callouts, but they all turned into nothing. They had been all during the day and Rose missed the low, modulated voice of the Doctor. She never quite got him out of her head. She wondered not only who he was, but why he only came on at night, and if they got a call on the weekend, would he be there? She also wondered what exactly he was. It made no sense. Someone had to know he was doing it. She still held the notion that he was someone his father had had check up on her. He never pushed, he just helped lead her. He had gotten her out of a few tight places though, and for that she was grateful. Even with his voice being clearly altered, he sounded nice. His inflection was of someone who truly cared. She also wondered if after a while he would go away. That prospect made her lonely, even before it happened. 

On the morning of the gala, Rose laid out her dress, a deep blue sparkly dress that came to just above her knees. She had some stunning stiletto heels to wear too. The dress fit her perfectly, fitted at the bosom and flowing below the waist. It was perfect for dancing. It had spaghetti straps up top and gave just enough cleavage. She had always hated strapless dresses, as she always felt that her breasts were on a shelf, plus it was trickier to dance in them. He had spent the morning taking a nice bath, conditioning her hair and having getting a mani-pedi with a few other girls from Torchwood. 

Now she sat at her vanity, trying a few different hair styles, when her phone went off. She cursed it, she was on call for a full hour still. It was Torchwood, she had a call. 

"Shit!" she said out loud. 

"Language!" came her mother's voice from somewhere in the house. 

Rose cursed again, though quietly, pulling on her fatigues. 

OoOo  
John's tux lay on the bed before him. He hated tuxes. Every time he wore it, something bad happened. Not world ending bad, but he wore it to a wedding there the groom's real wife showed up, then to an awards banquet where there was a fire. He wondered if it was him or the garment. Then, he shook his head. Clothes did not bring bad omens, it was just circumstances. 

He wasn't ready to get dressed but took out the tux to air it out and see if it had wrinkles. It looked good, now he just wanted to feel good about wearing it. 

He had known about the gala. The first year he was at Torchwood he had gone. It really wasn't that fun, not for him at least. It was nice to converse with coworkers out of work, but not enough to make him want to go again. Isn't that what they made pubs for, anyway?

It really was just justification for people to get drunk on free booze and behave badly. Well, not at first. The dinner was good, and the entertainment fun, but later on things began to devolve. When he went last, someone vomited into a plant and someone else fell asleep laying in the middle of a table, hugging a cake. He supposed he could go leave early, but there was always a nagging protectiveness for his coworkers that made him stick around. His solution had been simply to not go. 

But here he was, thinking about going again, now with a loose invitation from Rose Tyler. This alone made him smile. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he absentmindedly pulled it out, then frowned. They had a call.

He hustled over to his home radio and monitor setup, checking it over again. It would be a little while before the crews got in and got their tech on. There was always a crew on, but they must already be on a call for this call to go out. He had set up his alert to only be when Rose's team got a call. It was easy. 

Soon enough though, the team was ready to go he could see when they retrieved their gear from the now empty tech room and winced at the mess that he saw they left. It was a call that someone had deemed a possible alien threat so off they went.

When Rose was online, John sent her a message. 

"Hello there, how are on this fine day?" he wrote, knowing she would see them in her glasses. 

He saw her fidget with her radio then click it, indicating she knew he was there. But John could see she was still in the van with the others and could not verbally answer him. 

When they got on scene, they fanned out and were instructed to not engage. 

Rose was told to look around the back of the structure. When she was alone, she finally spoke. "Hello Doctor, I guess you work on Saturdays?"

John was careful not to give anything away about him or what he knew about her. "I do, sometimes. Do you often?"

"I was on call today, but I was starting to get ready for the Torchwood gala. I work tomorrow too, it's a regular shift, but I don't come on until noon."

John knew this, she had talked about it at lunch, but he didn't let on that he knew. 

Rose spoke again,"Are you going to the gala? Do I finally get to meet you?"

John panicked for just a second before he realized that there was no way she could recognize him, especially if she hadn't already. "No, I have a prior engagement, I hope you have fun though, well not too much fun."

"We'll see, but I imagine it will be pretty calm if my team has to work tomorrow. "

They were distracted then by movement behind the dumpster. Rose called for backup and the call progressed like usual, John keeping watch, and Rose being brilliant. This time it turned into a bit of a wild goose chase. The noise she heard was a bum sleeping off a bender, and the rest turned out to be kids screwing around where they shouldn't be. They were trying to make a video about being in an abandoned place and broke a few things. They carried a big light with them and then after not finding anything that they wanted, started making noises at passers by. 

Though annoying, there was nothing for Rose's team to do, so they called local law enforcement and left. 

Rose signed off with a quiet thank you to John, and he could tell she was in a hurry to get ready for the party. 

He took a quick shower, donned his tux and was on his way. He parked his car in the underground car park under his building. By all standards, it was a sleek vehicle. It was a bright blue Porsche that was both low to the ground and highly stylish. John didn't spend money on much, but after landing his lucrative job at Torchwood, treated himself. It also didn't hurt that a little alien tech may help with fuel use. But no one had to know that. 

Parking at the event was easy, as many people got rides. He was going only because he had been asked, and had no intention of drinking enough that he couldn't safely drive home. 

The grand ballroom was just that, grand. It was a feast of glittering chandeliers and banners hanging with both the Torchwood and Vitex banners. The tables allowed for open seating, but John noticed right away that most departments were seated together. He looked around to all the tables, not seeing Rose as of yet, so he settled at the table with Koshi, Emma and a few other tech people and their partners. Seated next to him was Emma, and on the other side of her was a guy John wasn't particularly fond of. His name was Adam, a new hire that thought he knew everything, though John wasn't convinced. But he was giving Emma a lot of attention and they seemed to be getting on well. 

Emma leaned over to John. "Hey can you do me a favor and hold my ID and such? My dress doesn't have pockets and I may have to drive home. I don't want to lose it. " She held out a small black zippered pouch, big enough for a ID and maybe a little money.

"Sure, I have really big pockets, I can fit a lot in there." He took the pouch and slid it in one of the front pockets on his jacket. 

"Thanks, I tried to get Adam to take it, but he said it ruins the lines of his jacket. "

John nodded and had to stifle the almost overwhelming urge to roll his eyes. 

"Rose!" someone called loudly, causing John to nearly fall out of his chair, turning to the door. What he saw made his heart leap. 

There was Rose Tyler, wearing what must be the most beautiful deep blue dress in all the world. Her hair pulled up except for a few of the most perfect tendrils that hung near her face. Her makeup was perfectly applied. It was more than she usually wore, but not too much, and highlighted her features. She was a vision. 

John felt a finger placed gently on the bottom of his jaw, push upwards. He turned to the touch, finding Emma gently closing his mouth, giggling. "Careful there, John, if you gape too much people will talk. "

"Was it that obvious?"

"Yes, but justifiably so, she's gorgeous. You like her, don't you?"

He blushed and looked down, smiling. "Yes. I think she might like me back. She came and sat with me at lunch yesterday. That's why I'm here, actually. I wasn't going to come. She said that I should and that she would save a dance for me. "

"Aww that's cute. I say go for it. We dance after dinner usually. It'll be nice before things get too wild. "

"Yeah, I know, I went a few years ago," John answered. 

"Well last year was crazy. After the director left, it was insane. We all left and went to a pub instead. We may do the same tonight. "

"Good to know." He turned back to where he had seen Rose, only to see that she had moved. His eyes searched for her and he was a little sad to see that he couldn't find her. Then he was tapped on the shoulder and looked up, his breath taken away. It was her. John was on his feet in an instant. "Hi Rose, you look fantastic," he managed. 

"Thank you, you clean up well yourself. I love the tux. "

He glanced down at himself, blushing. "Thanks."

She moved a little closer. "So just so you know, I intend on collecting on that dance you promised me. "

"And I intend to give it," he countered. 

"OK, after dinner then. I- I have to sit with my team."

"I figured as much. But later, definitely."

Then both smiled awkwardly at each other before she turned to go. 

"Ugh," said Koshi next to him," I need a mop to wipe up all the awkward that was just spilled."

Everyone at the table laughed, including John. It was awkward, but it was a step forward. It made him wish that dinner was already over. 

Mercifully, dinner was served shortly after. It was their choice of beef, chicken or salmon, with a vegetarian option. John had chosen the salmon and it was quite good. The conversation at the table was lively, probably intensified by the amount of alcohol that was being consumed, but still quite fun. It was nice to talk to this coworkers out of work. He got to see personalities that he usually didn't. He couldn't help but notice how much attention Adam gave Emma. Even though he wasn't fond of the boy, he thought Emma would be good for him. 

Near the end of dinner, Pete Tyler took the microphone and gave out several awards, both for Torchwood and Vitex. It was interesting that Pete could weave through the awards like that, especially with the Vitex people having little idea what Torchwood was. But with everyone dressed up, they all looked the same. No one could guess the nature of the other agency just by the dress of the employees. 

John listened to Pete, recognizing a few of the Torchwood people and none of the Vitex ones. Jake got an award for "team leader of the year", and Koshi for one about innovation. He found himself looking at his watch though. He really wanted the next part to be there, when he could dance with Rose.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about some more fluff. I can't say anything beyond that, other than buckle up. Thanks for reading!

Across the room, Rose was also wishing time would pass. She knew her team pretty well already, and had partied with them a fair amount since becoming an agent. Some of them were pretty hard core, though she considered herself a lightweight. Despite her life as the Vitex heiress, she had always chosen to have a low profile. She worked hard at her studies and made sure she earned what she got. She never wanted the reputation that she was given things. 

She had been looking forward to that night, to be able to sit with her fellow agents instead of at her parent's table like before. Now there was an added element to worry about, she really wanted to have some time with John. It had taken all she had to ask if she could sit with him at lunch. Then, in a streak of brilliance or stupidity, she asked him if he was going to the gala. Now he was here, she was here and she wanted nothing more than to ask him to dance. Now if she could just get her anxiety under control. 

Not only was dancing with John enough to put her on edge, but she had to consider the backlash that was expected. If she ever was to have something with John, that is if he wanted to, she would have to make it OK for her team too, or at least make them accept it. They didn't have to like it. 

Her anxiety about the night made it difficult to eat well. She had started out worried that she wouldn't make it after their call, then had to rush, then seeing John tied her stomach in knots. She knew she needed to eat, but it was hard. She finally was able to down a roll, but stopped shortly thereafter. Talking to him helped calm her, but not much. It was only as she sipped on offered champagne that she relaxed a bit. Before she knew it the plates were being cleared. 

After her father gave out awards, the music started. She took another sip of champagne before getting up. The song was a fast one, meant to get people on her feet, and she was dragged onto the floor by Claire and Jake. Then all danced and laughed together. After a few songs, she and Claire went back to the table to drink a little more champagne and relax. 

She had kept on eye on John throughout. He also got up with his group and danced, stealing not-to-covert glances at her. But she too, got caught from time to time. 

Dancing and laughing, along with two flutes of champagne helped her nerves. She first slow song started and she was instantly grabbed by Mickey. "Micks I was gong to-" she started.

"Dance with me? Why thank you," he finished. 

So she acquiesced and danced with him, throwing a apologetic look to John, who just smiled and indicated that they could dance later. 

The party was heating up and the next few songs were fast. At some point Jackie and Pete came up to her and bid their goodbyes, making her promise to get a ride home, to which she agreed. 

By the time another slow song came on, Rose was starting to feel the champagne. It wasn't bad, but made her feel light and floaty. Perhaps she should eat. But John was alone at the table and she took her chance. He stood as she approached. 

"Hi there, " he said. 

"Hi, wanna dance?" she asked. 

"I'll try not to step on your toes," he said, glancing down at her now bare feet.

"My shoes were killin' me," she answered in explanation. 

"That tends to be an issue," he said, offering his hand. 

John led them onto the floor where she locked her arms around his neck and he looped his around her back. They weren't hanging off each other like some couples, including Emma and Adam, but it certainly was more intimate than they had ever been. 

"Are you having fun? he asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to cut back on the champagne though. "

"Are you alright?"

"I'm good, trust me. Thanks for dancing."

"I've been looking forward to this all night."

"Me too."

John was an excellent dancer. He effortlessly guided her around the floor. He even spun her around a few times. 

"You make me feel like a princess!" she said. 

"As you should," he said back. 

"You also dance pretty well for a hermit."

He laughed and she reveled in the sparkling in his eyes. "Well you know us hermits, we have a lot of time to watch videos. I only learn from the best of YouTube."

"Oh I think you've maybe had a lot of practice, " she said as he twirled her again. 

John was loving this. Rose in his arms, taking to him, laughing with him. It was like a dream come true. He could have danced all night with her. But as they do, the song ended and they separated, though just to John's arm length. 

"That was nice," she breathed. 

"That was fun, " he mirrored. 

"Maybe we shou-" she started.

"Rose!" called a voice just to her left. They both turned. Almost her entire team stood there, silly looking grins in place. 

"They look like they're up to something." John said quietly. 

"I think they are," she said, turning to them. "What's up guys?"

Claire spoke first. "You have to come with us. Mickey brought the shotski!" she giggled incessantly. All the team around her nodded and started for Rose and before she knew it, she was swept up with them with them saying "Shotski! Shotski!" She did manage to wave at John and mouth "Thank you."

He smiled back, trying to not let his disappointment show. He had really wanted to keep dancing, but a fast song had started, so he walked back to his table. Emma was there, drinking water. 

"Are you OK?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, but dancing is thirsty work. I'm just taking a break. You?"

"I just danced with Rose."

"Was it magical? " she gushed, "Like prince dancing with his princess magical?"

John smiled shyly. "Would it be weird to say yes?"

"Not at all."

"Yes!" John blurted, making Emma laugh. 

"So where is she now?" Emma was scanning the dance floor.

"Her team came and got her. What's a shotski anyway?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. It's a ski the has little hollowed out places for a shot glass. Everyone lines up and they all take a shot together, in unison. I'm surprised it came back, last year it didn't work out great for a few of the agents. But as I remember, they kinda do it as a team building thing. I prefer trust falls, but to each his own. "

John looked over to were the agents were standing, just in time to see the ski get turned towards them and then six of them take a shot. Then there was raucous cheering. Rose was right in the center of it. She looked to be having a good time, and he supposed he couldn't blame her. That was her team. They were here too, and though he wanted to, he couldn't monopolize her time as much as he would want to.

"C'mon John! " Emma said next to him. Everyone is up, lets dance!" She pulled on his arm. He really didn't want to go. He never considered himself to have any rhythm for fast dancing, but she tugged hard enough and he gave in. 

He soon found it fun to be dancing with his friends. Even a few people from the archives came over and before he knew it he was having to take off his coat, only to be pulled back. 

After a few more songs, another slow song started, and he found himself looking for Rose, but didn't see her. He walked back to his chair with Emma, to get more water. 

"Hey John, we might head out to the pub here shortly. Sometimes we do karaoke. The night's still young. Do you want in?" she asked.

John was looking around the room, he hadn't located Rose yet and it made him a little concerned. It was a fine line between stalker and concern, but he had grown used to looking after her and it was becoming more common place, even if he didn't want to admit it. 

"Uh, yeah, maybe," he said distractedly. He took a sip of water then stood. "Excuse me, Emma, I'm going to step outside for a moment. Text me if you guys go anywhere. "

"OK," she said, eyeing him. 

John stood and took his jacket from the chair, swinging it over his shoulder, not looking back to Emma.   
OoOooo

Rose was wishing she had eaten much more. The first shot of tequila only made her more dizzy, but the second really pushed her over the edge. At first they had done the shotski near their table, but then someone had the bright idea to take it upstairs on the veranda that partially looked out onto the grounds, but also over the dance floor. She sat out as the ski was given to another group but stood up and did a second with her team with enough goading. That was the kicker. 

Now the room spun at an ungodly rate and she could have sworn the floor was rippling. Then there may or may not have been a third shot. She honestly couldn't remember. She sat rather hard onto a love seat against the wall, and Claire plopped down next to her. 

"I got to find me some action!" slurred Claire. "Tequila does that to me. What do you think of Mickey?" 

"We dated a little in school, he's nice," Rose slurred back. Yeah, this was a bad idea. 

"Who do you like?" asked Claire, now leaning on Rose's shoulder. 

Rose just smiled. 

"Who? Oh wait, I saw you, it's John isn't it?"

Rose only smiled more and put her finger clumsily to her lips. "Shh", she said. 

Claire laughed heartily. "You can't date a techie!"

"Why not?"

"Because. He. Is. A. Techie," she countered, as if her explanation was a legitimate reason. 

"But he's cute and nice!"

"But he's a techie! He's not your type! We can't cross contaminate!" she said, quite proud of herself for coming up with the word. 

Both girls laughed at that. 

"I like him!"

Claire sat up and looked at her. "I know what will fix this. R-repeat after me." She raised her hand in the air. 

Rose raised her hand too. 

"OK, OK, now repeat. I, Rose Tyler-"

"You're not Rose Tyler, I am. "

"I know! You have to repeat it."

"Oh."

"Ok, I Rose Tyler-"

"I, Rose Tyler-"

"Acknowledge that it is wrong-"

"Ack-ack-now-ledge that it is wrong,"

"To date a techie,"

Rose giggled, "To date a techie-"

"I- and I promise-"

"And I Promise,"

"To never do it, ever."

"To never, do it, ever."

"There all better!" Claire said, bringing her hand down to shake Rose's. 

Rose shook her head. "That means, nothing, I'm drunk."

"It means everything. Just repeat it when you want to date a techie again. It works like a charm."

Both girls dissolved into laughter. 

"Oh!" said Claire," I need the loo! I'll be back, don't move! "She got up on very shaky legs and started down the stairs to go to the loo. She tripped about halfway down, but was hanging onto the handrail, but she shrieked and giggled. Mickey, who had been talking with friends ran down and scooped her up, making her shriek again. Rose just laughed. 

Soon everyone started back down the stairs and Rose found herself alone. But Claire was coming for her, so she just put her head back on the love seat and waited.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me. Also I tried to make the top portion italic, but it didn't work, so it just looks weird. That section is there for a reason though. Also also, please don't kill me.

~~~~~~~Last time~~~~~~~~  
"Ok, I Rose Tyler-"  
"I, Rose Tyler-"  
"Acknowledge that it is wrong-"  
"Ack-ack-now-ledge that it is wrong,"  
"To date a techie,"  
Rose giggled, "To date a techie-"  
"I- and I promise-"  
"And I Promise,"  
"To never do it, ever."  
"To never, do it, ever."  
"There all better!" Claire said, bringing her hand down to shake Rose's.   
Rose shook her head. "That means, nothing, I'm drunk."  
"It means everything. Just repeat it when you want to date a techie again. It works like a charm."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took John a few minutes, but he found her. He hadn't seen them go upstairs, and after thoroughly checking for her downstairs, he went up, only to see her asleep, head back on the loveseat, all alone. 

John knelt in front of her. "Rose?" He gently shook her leg. She mummed and moved her head but didn't wake. He reached out and shook her shoulder. "Rose?"

Her eyes fluttered open and she shook her head slowly. Then her eyes traveled up the frame in front of her. Whoever it was was blurry at first, but as her vision cleared, she exclaimed, John!" Then she frowned, "Why are you here?"

It was apparent to John that perhaps she didn't know where "here" was. 

"Rose, are you OK?" he asked, withdrawing his hand from her shoulder. 

She smiled sloppily. "Yeah, I'm good, wait, no, I'm really drunk." She giggled again. 

"I can see that," he deadpanned.

"Are you mad?"

He have her a warm smile. "No, I was just worried about you."

"That's nice. I normally don't drink like this, but I was suuuper nervous tonight, and didn't eat much. I think that's my problem. "

"Why were you super nervous?" he asked, hoping he knew the answer. 

She looked at him blearily. "I can't remember."

John deflated somewhat and sat back on his heels. "Well I suppose we should get you home, do you have a ride?"

"I don't know. I could find one."

"Would you let me drive you?" he asked, knowing that he was the most viable option, he hadn't had anything past one flute of champagne hours ago, and there was no way he would let anyone else there drive her. Also, he wasn't about to put an inebriated Rose Tyler alone in someone else's car. There were too many variables. 

"You'd give me a ride? How do you know where I live?" she asked, confused.

"I've been there, remember?"

"Oh yeah, it was nice having you at my house. I was sad when you left."

John's jaw dropped. What? Well if nothing else, this would be a interesting ride. "I'll take you, but I need you to text your mum first, just so she knows you're coming and who is taking you, OK?"

"Yeah." she fished around and produced a little purse, that she had slung across her body. She, with some difficulty, pulled out her phone and managed to get it unlocked. "Can you text her? My fingers aren't working."

"Sure." He took the phone and opened her contacts, typing a quick message to her mum. He got a near instant "OK be careful," in response. 

"OK now, Miss Rose, on your feet." John stood before her and offered his two hands. She giggled again and held out her hands, allowing her to pull her up. She swayed on her feet for a moment, so John steadied her. "Whoa there. You ok?"

"Yes." She smiled hugely. 

John couldn't help but laugh. He put back on his jacket so it wouldn't fall and looked at her. It was certainly something to see her like this. At least she was a happy drunk. He turned, but let her loop her arm around his and started for the stairs. "Put you hand on the rail and I'll help from here," he said. 

Rose did as she was told, but he had to redirect her a few times and remind her to hold on. They made it down and he set her on a bench while he went to retrieve her shoes from under the table. He gathered Rose again and walked her out, garnering several looks from multiple people. These, of course made him uncomfortable. They were not people he knew well, so he didn't feel the need to explain what he was doing, but he could see how a man helping a very drunk girl out may raise eyebrows, especially since they were not an item. 

The cold air outside woke her up a little. "Oh, it's cold out here!" she said, clinging closer to him. 

Without hesitation, John set down her shoes, there was no way those were going back on her feet tonight, and whipped his jacket off and settled it on her shoulders. Then he realized that she was barefoot. But her high heels were a hazard. So he did the next best thing. He handed her her shoes, then scooped her up and carried her, bridal style. 

Rose whooped in delight. "Now this is service!" she said merrily. 

"Well I couldn't have you hurt your feet on the rocks, could I?" he asked. 

"You're so nice!" she said, lightly kicking her feet as he walked. 

His car was not far away and as he got up to the side of it, he put her down gently, reaching for his key fob. 

"This is yours?" she asked, running her hand over it.

"Yeah it is, I guess you've never seen it before. It was a gift to myself."

"I bet it goes fast." 

"It does, but we won't be doing that tonight, I want to keep the contents of your stomach on the inside."

She leaned on the car with both hands and then turned to him."Oh, I won't get sick in your car, I promise."

John opened the door for her and helped her inside, then made sure she put on her seat belt. Then he jogged around to the driver's side. 

Rose was mainly quiet as he drove. But John kept stealing glances. Even in this state she was beautiful, but he certainly didn't envy the hangover she would have in a few hours, or how she would feel when her shift started the next day. 

"John?" Rose asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes?" he asked, his heart ratcheting up a notch in anticipation of her question. 

"Do you like me?"

John blanched, this was dangerous territory. She could mean several things with that question. "What do you mean? " he ventured.  
"Do you like me, like me?" her speech had grown more slurred as she calmed. 

John took a breath. She wanted to know, and he wanted to tell her. Though it was possible that she wouldn't remember this conversation. Should he tell her the truth, or should he stall? Did she think about him as much as he thought about her? Had she felt what he felt? Had the dance between the two of them been as wonderful for her as it had been for him? In a perfect world he would bare his soul and she would do the same, both agreeing that they were meant for each other. But what if she didn't feel the same way? There no telling where she would go with this if he answered truthfully. 

Maybe if he just waited she would forget she asked.

"Do you, John?" she insisted. 

He took a breath. Then another. He chanced a glance over to her, only to the sucked into the whiskey brown eyes that were currently locked on him. So he said it. "Yes I do, Rose, I like you. I mean I like you- like you. Erm, do you feel the same way?"

The next thing that came out of her mouth made John's heart stop. 

"We could go out, but I can't."

He paused. She hadn't answered the question. "Why , Rose? What do you mean?" he managed to get out. 

She sat up a little straighter. "Because I, Rose Tyler, can not go out with a techie, or something like that. I can't date you. You're not my type. We can't... We can't cross... um ...conta-mom-ate. " She laughed at her joke and her throwback to Claire. 

John didn't laugh. Of course he had no idea that it was a joke. His knuckles went to white on the steering wheel and he gritted his teeth. These outward signs were one thing, but inside his heart was pounding, his stomach clenched. 

There, she had said it. He wasn't her type. They couldn't go out. She didn't feel the same way about him. 

He had always thought that drunk statements were what people were really thinking. Now he knew. Well, she certainly did a good job of flirting to get what she wanted, didn't she? The lunch, the coffee, it didn't mean anything. His heart sank to the floor. And he had just shown his cards. 

Next to him Rose hummed to herself, oblivious to the havoc she had created, only inches away from her. It wasn't like he was helping her as the Doctor in order to get her to go out with him, but he felt like helping. Now, honestly, he did not. What had been fun before soured in front of his eyes. That day he had allowed himself to fanaticize about being with Rose. Nothing too far, but going out and doing things, even feeding ducks at the park, just being with this magnificent creature that somehow seemed to be attracted to him. But now he knew. He didn't have a chance. She was just being nice to the techie. Of course he knew that the term was used for people like him, but hearing it come out of her mouth almost made it sound like a curse word. 

They didn't talk again until he pulled up in front of the Tyler mansion. He got out and opened the door for her, helping her out. This time, though, he allowed her to make her way to the front door. It opened before she got there, revealing Jackie Tyler in a dressing gown and a frown. "Rose Marion Tyler, would you look at yourself. It's a disgrace. " She raised her eyes to John, who was already getting back in the car. "Thank you for getting her home!" she called to him. 

John just gave a light wave and a weak smile and climbed in. 

He was halfway home when he stopped at a light and saw something move on the passenger floorboard. It was her shoes, she had left them. Well he wasn't going back, that was for sure. 

A second later, his phone rang, playing over the speakers of his car. "Emma" a robotic voice sounded. 

He punched a button on the steering wheel. "Hi Emma." He had no enthusiasm in his voice. 

"Hi, John, I forgot to get my ID from you before you left. Is there any way we can get it?"

John sighed lightly. "Sure where are you?"

"We all went to a pub. I think you've been there, the one on Elm street?"

"Oh yeah, I'll be right over," he said flatly. 

"John, is everything alright?"

"It's just great, nothing to do with you, don't worry, I'll be over soon. "

"OK." 

John made a quick series of turns that put him on track to the pub. He was still seething. Not only had it been a surprise for Rose to say what she did, but it also made John feel like he had been duped. She had led him to believe that she fancied him. Now he was actively thinking of ways to avoid her, There was no way he was going to first be basically told that she could never like him, and then have to work with her. He had the ability to do his work various places, and that is what he would do. As far as the situation with being the Doctor, well that was under review too. 

John parked at the pub and walked in to yelled greetings from his coworkers. Even given his sour mood, he couldn't help but smile. A pint was shoved in his hand instantly by someone and he got patted on the back as people gathered around. 

It was all a bit much given his mood, but he hid it well. Soon though, Emma approached. He handed over her ID pouch with a smile. 

She put up one finger in his face. "Don't you smile at me mister, tell me what happened. "

"It was nothing." he attempted. 

"Nope, I saw you leave with Rose. I now you're trying to hide it, but you look like someone kicked a puppy. Out with it. "

"I really shouldn't."

Emma pulled John to a table away from all the others, and pointed for him to sit. He did, but not happily. "John, I know that you fancy her. It's obvious, to me at least. So what happened? "

John rubbed his hands over his face. "She asked me if I liked her. I said yes. She then proceeded to tell me- no, she actually sounded like she was taking some sort of oath, that she would never date me, because I was a techie and not her type. Then she laughed."

"Like it was a joke?"

"Like she was proud of herself. She also said something about not cross-contaminating. I don't want to talk about it anymore, really. I'm over it. "

"You're not over it. You thought you had something and she tossed it away. That's got to hurt. I'm sorry. I also thought she was different. "

He rubbed his hand over his face. "I did too. "

"So what now?"

John sipped his pint. "I'm going to stay out of her path until I get over the embarrassment or retire, whichever comes first. I can't believe I told her I liked her. I mean, I thought she liked me too, but I guess I got it wrong. I need to go live in a hole. My only hope it that she won't remember any of it."

Emma laughed. "John, there's someone out there for you, Rose just wasn't the right one. I think that the techies and the agents just weren't made to exist together."  
"I'm seeing that now," said John, taking a long sip from his pint.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we see what happens next? Ah the aftermath.

The next morning, John woke early as usual. He hadn't stayed late at the pub and didn't drink beyond his first pint. He had planned on being alone, but somehow it just felt better to be around people. He ended up taking Koshi home, then Adam, then Emma. He had been home about 2 am and slept to 6:30. When he woke though, he wasn't refreshed like usual. In fact, he had a profound apathy and found it hard to get out of bed. Even forcing himself to shower didn't help. Nothing held his attention very long and after a few hours he decided to scrap all his projects for the day and just clean his flat. 

His mind was all over the place, flitting here and there. It usually did this, but that day it was different. Instead of flipping from wiring to circuits to little parts and functions, it went from self doubt, to embarrassment to dread. He tried to not think about Rose, but it just wouldn't work. He wasn't ready to let it go. The thoughts stuck to his brain the way only profound embarrassment did. It hurt and was aggravating at the same time, and there was no end in sight. 

OoOoO

When Rose Tyler's eyes fluttered open the next morning, they immediately shut. Then seconds later, her door slammed open and Jackie's voice assaulted her ears. "Time to get up! You have a shift that starts in just over an hour! You don't want to be late!" 

Her voice pierced Rose's ears and she groaned. "Not so loud, Mum. I have a headache. "

"Oh, did someone have a little too much fun last night? Well you're a big girl now, so you have to face the consequences. Now get up! "

Rose groaned again. Her head felt like a lead weight. Well, a lead weight filled with cotton. She kicked off her duvet and looked down at herself. "Wait, I don't even remember getting here. Who put me to bed?"

"I did, and it wasn't easy either. You were in a right state. You just went on and on. "

She massaged her forehead for a moment. "How did I get here?"

"Oh, that nice John Smith brought you."

Her head shot up. "He did?" Rose brightened, then frowned. "Oh Gods, this is embarrassing. Did he say anything?"

"Not that I saw. Now, hustle into the shower. Then drink a lot of water, I'll get some paracetamol for you. Chop chop!"

Rose groaned a third time and slid off the bed. This was not going to be a fun shift. She also wondered what happened with John. She would need to talk to him. She hoped she hadn't done anything to embarrass herself. 

OoOoO

John had finished a lunch of stale crumpets and some questionable salad when his phone alerted to a call for Torchwood. It was 1:37. He knew Rose would be on duty, that is if she didn't call in sick. 

John didn't move. He just sat there, staring at his water glass. Just 24 hours ago, he would have jumped to his communication center. The one he had made specifically to play the Doctor and talk to Rose when he wasn't at work. But now he didn't. 

He heard the radio come to life minutes later. He hadn't moved from his chair, but heard the units responding. He hadn't heard Rose's voice yet though. The call was for weird acid type material that had been found. It was in a building, one recently uninhabited, about two miles from John's flat. 

Unbidden, his mind started to race. Something about the acid sounded familiar. It had been found in a streak, from what he could garner from the radio traffic. Before he could stop himself, John found himself at his console. He peered up the monitors and pulled up the various video feeds. He stopped before pulling up Rose's. He didn't have to do this. He didn't have to do anything for that matter. No one knew anything or was expecting anything. And just because he was embarrassed beyond measure, didn't mean that he couldn't monitor what was happening. He didn't have to talk to her. She didn't have to know he was there. But the acid intrigued him. He told himself that he was just doing this to see about it. 

He pulled up her feed. 

Rose was in a group of agents. They were searching the building for signs of the substance. He listened to the idle chatter. They were talking about the party, and from the sound of it, everyone was feeling tired and sick. Someone chided Rose for being a lightweight, she told him to shove off. Someone else started talking about someone vomiting in someone else's car and they all agreed how gross that was. Someone asked Rose what happened to her. 

"I got a ride home," she answered simply. 

John stiffened at the console.

"I saw her with John Smith," someone piped in. 

Everyone reacted, laughing, making comments. John's stomach plummeted. He shouldn't be listening to this. 

"Did you get a little techie nookie?" asked someone. 

"Ewww!" came a chorus of voices. 

"I didn't do anything!" she said, voice raised a little. "It's not, he didn't-"

John had had enough. He started to reach for the button to turn off the console. 

Than a familiar voice spoke, it sounded like it may be Mickey,"Yeah Rose, did you enjoy a little techie noo-"

"What's that?" Rose asked, cutting off Mickey. 

John glanced at her video. She was pointing at a streak of something along the floor. "It smells bad," Mickey said. 

They all agreed. 

"This is not what I need to smell on with my hangover," someone else said. 

John didn't hear anything else. The words were drowned out by the pounding of his heart in his ears. It was making him sick. What would Rose say about him? Did it matter? His fingers made it to the kill switch when he heard a little voice. "Doctor?" His hand dropped to the desk. 

It was Rose. After pointing out the streak on the floor, she stepped back away from the group and must have switched to the channel they used. "Doctor, are you there?"

He didn't answer. 

He also didn't turn off the console. He actually didn't know what to do. She was asking for him. This was so messed up. He didn't know what to say, especially after hearing everyone talking about him. His embarrassment at being turned away was quickly turning to anger. 

Why did he say he liked her? Why didn't he let her talk first? Well, it was clear. He thought things were different than they were. He thought that by telling her that he liked her she would reciprocate. Instead it was quite the opposite. 

He pushed back from the console. 

Rose had broken off and was sent with another agent to search another area. He could hear them talking back and forth. But something was tickling John's brain. The substance Rose had seen was on the floor, and the radio traffic before indicated that the stuff was on a wall. 

Rose and her counterpart walked into another room. 

"There's that smell again," Rose said as they walked in. 

They looked around but didn't see anything. "Why is the smell worse the farther we go? I can't see anything!" Rose said, her eyes sweeping the room. 

John's mind was reeling. He had a thought but it was too fast to catch. It as bouncing around his brain. 

Then he caught it. He jumped back to to the console. "Rose, look up" he finally said on the channel they used, hoping that she hadn't switched back to the main channel. 

But on his screen he saw her look up. She yelled and pulled the other agent back. The substance was all over the ceiling. It was mostly light colored and the ceiling was a high one. It was easy to miss. They scrambled out of the room and radioed the others. 

Once everyone got there, Rose gave report and stepped back. 

"Doctor? I didn't know you were there. Thank you."

He didn't want to answer. He really didn't. "Yeah, I'm here."

"I was hoping you would be. Thanks for that. It was hard to see it on the ceiling. I didn't notice it until you told me. "

He didn't answer, mostly because he just didn't have the bandwidth to carry on the conversation as another person with the person who had shot him down. As complicated as it was, it was also exhausting. 

"Doctor, are you alright?""

Now he had to answer. "I'm always alright. I just have a lot on my plate. I have to sign off now." 

"OK, I hope you feel better," she said. It was as if she could feel him, how he was feeling. Her voice got quieter. She also sounded sad, and he had no idea what to do with that.   
OoOoOo

John spent the remainder of Sunday going over his pictures of the tissue healer. He wasn't paid to work at home, but it was an intriguing device. And at least at home he could regulate his distractions. There were no more calls for the teams, so at least he didn't have the burden of trying to decide if he wanted to engage or not. 

OoOoOo

Rose woke Monday morning not feeling much better. She wasn't hungover anymore, but now something else had taken hold. Her interaction with the Doctor the night before had set a tone of discomfort. All day on Sunday when wanted to text of call John, but embarrassment about the state she was in when he took her home was overwhelming. He hadn't called either though, so either he wasn't happy with what happened or he didn't care. Neither of those things were good. 

She had thought that their dance was wonderful. It was a precious few minutes of pure bliss for her, and it seemed to be for him too. But then she had been pulled away and all that nastiness happened. John had saved her though. She vaguely remembered him coming to get her, being in his car and his face, maybe a frown? She wasn't sure, but the rest was blank. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't come along? She hoped someone would have asked after her and remembered where she was, but maybe not. What had prompted him to go look for her? It warmed her heart to think he cared enough to go look, but hurt to think about her behavior. It was not normal. She had done it to herself , and there was no one to blame, but that didn't make the sting any less. She should have eaten, she should have said no, there was a lot she should have done.

She threw the duvet off her bed. She needed to talk to John. Until she did, all she had was questions. She needed to thank him, and possibly apologize for her stupidity, she only hoped that she didn't hurt him or say anything too stupid. 

She arrived at Torchwood with coffees in hand, ready to talk to John before her shift began. But when she came to his workspace, it was empty, in fact it was completely devoid of any evidence of him. There wasn't even a jacket on the back of his chair. She looked around a little but no one looked up or offered any explanation. She set his coffee at his place and looked around once more. At the big monitor station sat a familiar face, it was the girl he was sitting next to at the gala. "Um, excuse me, I'm sorry I don't know your name, is John in today?"

Emma looked at the tech next to her for a moment, then took off her headset and stood. "It's Emma, and yes he's here, but I'm not sure where he is right now."

"Thanks, Emma. Do you know if he's coming back?"

"No, he didn't say anything."

Rose tried not to show the abject disappointment she felt. She plastered a fake smile on. "Well OK, can you tell him to text me if you see him? I need to talk to him. My name is Rose."

"I know who you are. Does he have your number?"

"Yes."

"You know, you could text him."

Rose frowned, but only for a millisecond, but Emma caught it. "I know, but I don't want to bother him. "

"OK. I may not see him, but I'll pass along your message" Emma's face softened as she saw how Rose was trying. It was clear that she had no idea what had gone down. But Emma was not in a position to tell her. 

"Thanks Emma," Rose said, turning to the door. 

Emma nodded and watched her go. Boy was she going to be in for a shock when she found out the truth. Emma wondered if all that happened was how Rose truly felt at all. It didn't seem so. She seemed sincere. 

John had come in that morning and Emma had caught him on the way out with a box of things. He hurriedly told her that he was working for the day in the archives and not to tell anyone where he was, he needed to work alone in quiet. She agreed. She knew exactly where he was though, because in his haste he forgot three separate things and she had to deliver them. It took her a while to find him though, he was way in the back of the archives, around twists and turns. On top of that he was hunched over a desk with only a lamp on. 

When Rose got to the locker room after dropping off the coffee, she saw something hanging from her locker. It was a plastic bag. Inside were her shoes. There was no note, nothing, just her shoes. She must have left them in John's car. But why did he leave them for her like that? It was so unlike him. Now she knew. Something was very wrong. She looked at her phone, tempted to text him. She really wanted to, but somehow she couldn't. She even started a text, but had no idea what to say. This was bad. She was at a complete loss for words. Should she start with an apology? Beg for forgiveness? Maybe just ask if he was OK? No new ideas came to her. Finally she just shoved her shoes into her locker and went to work.   
OoOoOo  
By the end of her day Rose still had no answers. After lunch and not seeing him at all, she got up the courage and texted him. It was a simple thank you. It registered as delivered, but not read. The same happened to the next text that she sent an hour later. Nothing came back. 

Rose had kept to herself all day. She had been asked several times by team members if she was OK, to which she just replied that she was fine. She was still kicking herself about her behavior, even more so that she couldn't remember what she did. Horrifying thoughts of what she could have done darted around her head like ping pong balls. Did she come onto him? Did she blurt out that she liked him? Did she try to kiss him, or worse?

She hadn't known John long enough to know how to apologize to him. But she knew she had to, and as soon as possible. How do you tell someone that how you acted, even though you didn't remember exactly how that was, was out of character?

On her way out that day, lost in thought, she nearly ran into Emma. 

She stopped short and looked at the girl. "OH! Sorry Emma, I was thinking."

Emma smiled knowingly. "It's alright Rose."

"Um, Emma, do you have a second to talk?" she asked

"Not really, I need to catch my bus." She pointed over her shoulder. 

Rose held out a hand. "I'll drive you, please I need a moment."

"Well, ok, but I only live a few kilometers away."

"No problem."

Rose led Emma to her car, a cute little sports car, bright red in color. "Oh this is nice!" exclaimed Emma."

"Thank you." Rose said, not wanting to go into the fact that he father had given it to her when she became an agent. 

Both of them got in and Rose turned to Emma. "Ok, I had ulterior motives."

"I figured."

"I've texted John twice now. He hasn't gotten back." 

She looked at Emma, who currently wore a guarded face. 

"Emma, what do you know that I don't? It's killing me. I... I don't know."

Emma gave Rose an appraising look. "OK, listen. I don't know where you are coming from, but I do have some of the back story. Why don't you tell me your end before I decide what part of my end needs to be let out."

Rose put the car in gear and backed out. "Ok, well as you know I was really pissed on Saturday night. I take full responsibility for it. I was... nervous about dancing with John. So I didn't eat dinner. We danced and it was magnificent. It was everything I could have imagined. It ranks among the best times of my life. "

"OK, but then what happened?" Emma asked. 

"I was stupid. My team came for me and talked me into shots, I guess it was some form of initiation. I got hammered. But John saved me. I was sitting all alone and he came and got me. I remember his face, his smile but little else. I don't even remember getting in bed, but woke the next day feeling like death."

"Justifiably so. But you remember nothing else?"

"Not really. I remember talking to John, and I remember him frowning but not knowing why. That's it, the rest is blank, really. I just have to know if I did something horrible to him, like if I came onto him in a bad way, or Gods, I don't know, grabbed him or something, or vomited in his car, I don't know. "

Emma smiled. "Ok it's not as bad as you may think, but it's kinda bad in other ways. You didn't come onto him or do anything crass."

"Oh, whew. Ok but can you tell me maybe what I did?"

Emma fidgeted in her seat. "Um, turn here, " she gave direction, "My building is up here on the right." 

Rose did, not saying anything, but pulled to a stop across from the building indicated. She looked at Emma, who was shaking her head. 

"I don't think I should share what John shared with me. It's his story, not mine. "

"But it's also my story. Just tell me the facts, not whatever else he may have told you. With that at least I have something to work with.

Emma chewed her lip and exhaled. "OK, but if he gets mad, it's on you. "

"Yes."

"Do you remember reciting any sort of oath?"

"Oath? No," she answered, but ruminated for a moment. "Wait, I remember saying something with Claire upstairs. Something about never dating a techie."

"And maybe that he wasn't your type because he was a techie?"

Rose's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh no, did I repeat the oath to him? That was a JOKE! She made me say it, and it wasn't anything. I said it to him?"

Emma nodded. "Yes you did."

Rose shook her head. It was fuzzy but starting to come back. "Wait, I asked him if he liked me. He said he did, well I think he did. Oh, now I remember. I did it because I thought it was funny. Gods! I'm an idiot. He had no way of knowing that was a joke. What is wrong with me? I told him he wasn't my type! "

"But he is, isn't he?"

Rose's head dropped to her chest. "Yes. Yes he is. And I royally fucked it up. John's amazing. What do I do now?"

"I would say text, maybe just one more time. But let him decide if he wants to talk. He may be hurting. I mean if you like someone, admit it, and then get shot down, no matter your age, it stings."

"I'm so mad at myself. This has never happened before. I've never been that pissed. I don't even usually drink. Maybe twice a year. I don't know what it is, my team, I just have trouble saying no."

"Remember peer pressure, all those talks they had about it in school?"

"Oh my gods, I'm a poster in gym class!" Rose wailed, with a sardonic laugh. "I can't believe myself. "

Emma laughed. "John is a smart guy. If you talk to him, he'll probably come around. He wouldn't know about the oath. He has to know it was a joke. "

"I'll text him again."

Emma got out of the car, but leaned back in. "It'll be alright. But talk to him. He likes you, I'm sure with a little rebuilding you can set things straight. "

"Thanks Emma."

"You're welcome. Also, when you get married, I'm in the bridal party."

Rose laughed again, sadly. "Let's get him to talk to me first."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the one where what we think went to hell... all goes to hell.

Once John finally got settled that morning, he was able to pour himself into his work. He turned off his cell and only Emma knew where he was. The thing with Rose was still very much an open wound but in this atmosphere, in the near dark, he could focus. Soon the whole world dropped away. 

He had it figured out. He had nicknamed the device the "tissue regenerator". So far it worked on "human analog" tissue, namely pig tissue. He also thought he could reconstruct it. He had examined every last millimeter of the thing and knew everything about it. Now it was just a matter of getting it tested and approved. 

He packaged it up carefully, he had done all he could with it at this time. Beyond the technology section where he worked, there was an extensive testing department. It not only did tests on all equipment, including things that came through the rift, weapons and anything that needed to be tested for long term use. They looked for side effects and decided when it was time to let something out. Sometimes things went on for years, sometimes only months. But this one was testing so well with him, with no radiation he hoped it would be quick. This could help a lot of people.

He put it in a padded box and hustled up to the second floor, opening the door to the testing department. He scrawled a quick note, and left his phone number. They would hopefully start on it in the morning. This could be huge. 

After dropping it off, he went to collect this things. Now after the tissue regenerator was gone he had nothing to focus on. He stretched, cracking his back and looking around. How long had he been at it? He looked at his watch. It was almost midnight. 

Well no wonder he was hungry. He hadn't eaten in twelve hours, and that was just because Emma brought him a sandwich and forced him to eat. 

He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone, powering it up. There were three messages. They were all from Rose. His heart skipped a beat. This could be anything. He opened them.

"Thank you for bringing my shoes. Your coffee is on your desk. "

The next one was sent an hour later. 

"Can we talk? I'd like to apologize. I feel like an idiot."

Then the last one. "John, I talked to Emma. Don't kill her for telling me. I don't know what to say. Can I call you?"

John held the phone, staring at it for a minute. It was late, he probably shouldn't reply. But what would he say if she did? "Sure, call me, lets talk about how I'm not your type"? No, but maybe they should talk. 

Honestly though, he wasn't sure if his heart could handle more rejection, even if she was apologizing. 

He got into his car, still holding his phone, but was startled when it alerted. They had a call. Was Rose on call that night?

He read the alert. It was calling for her team. He hurriedly pulled his car out and headed home. If nothing else he didn't want to run into her. But he couldn't let it rest. 

While he was driving though, he couldn't stop thinking about her text. It sounded sad. He had to say something. They needed to talk as much as he didn't want to. At least it would close the door on it. 

He quickly turned into a car park and typed. "Sorry I wasn't in my office. We can talk tomorrow. Just give me a call."

She immediately texted back. "Can we meet? I feel like I need to see you in person. But I just got called in. Coffee? Tomorrow?"

John shook his head. This wasn't a good idea. Seeing her would make it worse. But an apology over the phone was easier. 

"I have a lot on my plate right now, let's talk tomorrow."

OoOoOo

At the mansion, Rose stood next to her car. She had gotten the call and had hurriedly gotten dressed and had gotten his text before she got in the car. Now she stood, staring at the phone. He had written that he had a lot on his plate. Where had she heard that before?

She had no time to think about it, her phone started to ring. It was Jake. He had information.   
OoOoOo  
John got home in time to hear Rose's team "go available" which means they were assembled and ready.   
He wasn't sure if the Doctor would be "in" on that night. He wasn't sure about a lot of things.   
OoOoOo  
Rose's team was the second team out that night. More calls had been received about the mysterious acid-like substance. Her team was to investigate an industrial building just a block away from John's flat building. It wasn't believed that the threat was in there, but there had been a call so they had to go check it out. 

It was still hard to hear her voice on the radio. He tried to not let it bother him, but he kept going back to how he felt in the car. 

He listened intently for a while, but when nothing was happening, he went to make himself a sandwich.

He came back when he heard the screaming. 

OoOoOo

The call came at the worst time. Rose had finally heard from John. All she wanted to do was to show up on his doorstep and beg for forgiveness. The hardest part of all this was that it had been a misunderstanding. 

Rose was partnered with Mickey again, and they were to survey the building, look for more acid slime or any signs of life. So far they had none. The building was an old paper plant. It had tons of rusting machines, augers, rollers and even rolls of old paper, just rotting. There were no lights on, and all the creepy things they illuminated were solely within the beams of their torches. Three other pairs were in various parts of the same building, doing exactly what they were doing. 

Mickey's light flicked to a three meter tall stack of yellowing paper. "I guess the digital age put them out of business," he remarked.

"I think that is a fair bet," Rose countered. She checked her optical readout again. She had looked every time she even thought anything could be there. She was looking for signs of the Doctor. Being with Mickey meant that she couldn't ask for him. But after what he said last time, she wasn't sure he would be there at all. He had said that, what had he said? Sher thought for moment. It had not been the best day for brain power when he had said it. 

He had said he had a lot on his plate. Well that was weird, hadn't John just said the same thing? 

She was ruminating on that thought as she and Mickey turned the corner only to find that a large grate had been moved to the side, revealing a gaping hole in the floor. 

"Whoa," Mickey exclaimed, sticking out his arm to hold Rose back. 

"Oh thanks, that's quite a first step," she said, standing next to Mickey and looking into the hole. 

"Yeah, I'm not su-AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Mickey screamed in pain and alarm. 

Mickey's hand was gone from her, but so was he. Rose flashed her light up. Mickey was now dangling above her, a blood red tentacle wrapped around his torso. His scream mixed with others near him. Rose's head whipped to each sound as she watched in horror, her torchlight now illuminating the being. It was enormous, taking up the rafters on the ceiling. It had coiled itself around the beams its remaining tentacles, all dripping in acid, flying wildly around. In them were held Torchwood agents, all screaming horribly. 

"This thing is huge!" she screamed into her radio! It's got Mickey!" But her transmission was covered by others, all with a similar message. It was big, and it was on the attack. 

Rose turned to flee, only to see another tentacle inches from her. She jumped back, but there was no ground there. She had tumbled into the hole in the floor. 

OoOoOo

John watched what was on Rose's camera in horror. The being, he recognized it, but couldn't remember specifically what it was. He flipped open his laptop, his fingers flying over the keys and searched. 

After a few minutes, there it was. It was a being simply known by a number. It was a 777HUI. The name did not do anything to show the threat. It was a being known to have at least a hundred tentacles in it's full grown size. He looked at all the pictures of it. The captions below the pictures indicated that it swelled and became more dangerous as it felt threats. "SHIT!" he yelled. The being that Rose had originally seen, the one that they thought spewed fire, wasn't what they thought it was. It was actually a juvenile of this thing. It just was unable to control the flow of its excretions, and they started fires. He had thought the other being was a fire starter, but it wasn't. He had missed it. 

Rose's camera showed the scene, it had hold of members of her team. She had to get out of there. He was about to type to her for her visual display, but then he saw her turn. There was a tentacle about to grab her, then there was a blurred display, then black. 

OoOoOo

Rose landed in a painful lump. Technically she fell, hitting a few things on the way down, and then landed. She let out an involuntary shriek when she did, but clamped her hand over her mouth. All she could see was darkness, but she could still hear the screams of her team.

She activated her radio. Nothing. There was no sound at all. She tried several channels, even the one the Doctor used, and there was nothing. It was broken. 

As she reached up to touch her glasses, she noticed two things. First her face was bleeding, and second, her glasses were gone. 

"No, no, no," she said quietly, reaching all around her. She felt things, mostly trash she hoped, until her hand landed on something fuzzy but squishy. She squeaked and recoiled. It must be a decaying rat. 

As she crawled around, she could hear herself making noise. Things were dragging behind her. 

She could have kicked herself. Her glasses were attached by a thin wire to the power supply on her belt. Carefully, and painfully, she swept her arm around from her belt, capturing the wire and eventually pulling up the glasses. They weren't powered on. She cursed again and powered them up, praying hard that they weren't broken too. But the gentle light that they generated in her field of vision showed that somehow they had lived. The current setting had mild light gathering effects, not night vision, but augmentation. She looked around. Garbage and a few dead animals were about, but nothing to climb out with. But she also wasn't too sure she wanted out, other than to try to save her coworkers. She sat down hard and did a systems check of herself. Nothing seemed broken, her ankle hurt, her face hurt and she felt bruised, but she was still able to move everything. She leaned back, resting her head on the metal and thought. She needed to get out of there. 

With a flicker, her display came to life on her glasses. "Rose? Are you there?"

What? Was that the Doctor? She nodded yes. There was no way for her to talk with no radio. 

"Are you hurt?"

She held up two fingers, pressed together at the tip showing just a little bit, but then flashed the OK sign. 

She then pointed up, out of the pit she was in, and made a hand like a wiggle monster. 

"I know about all that, I was watching," the words said to her. "I also know your radio is broken. I've been trying to raise you on it."

Rose flinched as she heard screaming above her. She looked up, and the tentacle holding Mickey dipped close to her. He was alive and still struggling to get out. His eyes widened when he saw her, but he couldn't say anything as he was lifted out and swung around again. 

"I'm sure help is on the way, Rose," typed the Doctor.

She shook her head. She knew everyone was caught. There would be more coming, but they may be caught too. The situation was dire. 

John was desperately trying to skim the information on the being, trying to find out what would stop it, while still keeping an eye on Rose. He looked back at the database screen skimming more. And there it was. "In the past, some measure of success was brought on with a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher. The being seems to pull away from it. Large scale carbon dioxide discharge has not been tested on it, but it is a consideration. This being is also sensitive to light. It is most active at night. Light causes almost immediate distraction and my initially anger it, but constant, strong light will cause it to shrink back from its agitated state. When used with carbon dioxide, the being may become paralyzed and may be able to be captured. Containment should be-" 

He stopped reading. That was it. But who to tell? No one was on the radio even if he did use it. Calls had been unanswered for a while, and John could only think that those who were in charge were caught up too. He had to help.

He looked around, jumping to his feet. He ran to his room, ripped open his closet and found a black hoodie. He then dug in he drawer. "Come on, come on," he muttered, "aha!" he pulled out a black bandana. He had used it once, years ago, for a cowboy costume. He momentarily was happy with himself for not ever throwing anything away. 

He donned the bandana around his face and hoodie, and then ran back to the console. "I'm coming for you Rose, he typed, "stay put."

All he saw in the monitor was her thumbs up sign. 

He ran down three flights of stairs, not wanting to wait for the lift. At the bottom he smashed the glass on the fire extinguisher that was stored there, taking it with him. 

Now running down the street, John could see the building. He could also hear the screams. 

OoOoOo

Rose sat huddled in the hole in the floor. The screams of her team were unbearable. More voices had joined the ones she recognized, meaning the other teams had arrived. 

She heard, "What is it?" and "Jake? Can we get a positive identification?" there didn't seem to be any answers. And the agents that weren't caught up were scrambling. 

The Doctor had said he was coming. But pressed up against the wall, tentacles flying around above her, she didn't know what to think. 

Terror gripped her. She knew it shouldn't. Agents didn't get scared, but her friends were hurting, maybe dying, and she was stuck in a hole. But if she was up there, would she be any help? She would most likely be caught up in it all too. The ramifications were not lost on her. This could end them all. They had no idea what they were getting into and no idea of how to stop it. 

Then there was a strange sound. A whooshing, spraying sound. Then a screeching sound from above. Then a voice above all the noise. "Spray it with fire extinguishers! And we need a lot of light!" That voice was strangely familiar. Soon there was more sounds of spraying, and more screeching, also the occasional sound of someone being dropped. Cries came from the injured. Then, all of a sudden there was light. One at a time, the lights on the ceiling were coming on, each with a pop. The screeching got louder, but more shouts came and more footfalls sounded. She could hear orders being yelled. They were getting a handle on it. 

To her left came a metallic clanging sound followed by a loud crash. She jerked away, only to see in the now brighter light, a ladder had been lowered. She started to climb, newly finding painful spots as she moved, but not willing to stop. After the first two rungs she looked up. At the top was a man, a hood over his head and a bandana on his face. 

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Doctor?" she asked.

"Are you alright?" he repeated. 

"Yeah, I think so," she said, nearing the top. It was hard to look at where she was going, all she wanted to look at was him. He looked familiar, something about his eyes, and that voice. It wasn't the Doctor's normal, modulated tone, it was different, yet she knew it from somewhere. 

She finally stepped onto the floor and saw the chaos. Tentacles were everywhere, blindly sweeping for anything, but slower now. A handful of agents used fire extinguishers to try to keep them back with limited success. She could hear them calling for more help and what to bring. Even as she heard them calling, more people rushed in, armed and ready. 

The Doctor took her hand, tugging as she limped behind him."We need to find you some cover."

"It's shrinking, keep advancing!" someone called. 

More agents were running in as it shrunk, now with only a few tentacles waving around. 

"Rose, you need to get out of the way, you're injured," the Doctor was saying, helping her along the way. 

"I think I need to help," she said.

"No, they've mostly got- AAARRRG!" he yelled suddenly. 

"Doctor!"Rose screamed as he pushed her away from him with one arm, the other now wrapped in a wayward tentacle. 

"HELP!" she screamed, and someone was there a second later, spraying onto it. 

As he was released from the grip of the being, the Doctor slumped to the floor, cradling his arm. 

The cries were dying down, as the agents advanced on the being. Rose was crouched down by the Doctor, his arm badly burned with the secretions from the tentacle. He was groaning. 

His groans mixed with others around. Rose looked up to see medical teams come swooping in, and starting to care for the wounded. It looked like about ten or twelve agents were laying on the ground. Most with what looked like burns around their torsos, legs and arms. 

She turned back to the Doctor, he was laying on the floor, but he was stirring. Suddenly he started to sit up. It startled Rose and she put a hand on his good arm. "You need to stsy down. You're injured." 

"No, I need to go," he croaked, now trying to stand.

"But Doctor, the medical teams can help," she pleaded as he tried to get up. 

Then over her shoulder came a commanding voice. "Rose? Are you OK?"

Rose whipped around. "Dad! What are you doing here?"

Next to her the Doctor groaned, but it sounded different. 

Pete crouched down. "I just got here. Major event, injured agents, I couldn't help myself. Are you alright. ?"

"A little banged up, but the Doctor needs help. "

"Who?" Pete asked.

Rose's jaw dropped. "How do you not know? He's the one that has been helping me. You know, talking to me on my radio, giving information and stuff."

Pete shook his head."If someone's been hacking your radio, it wasn't my doing."

Rose and Pete both slowly turned to the Doctor, Rose also slowly pushing herself away. The Doctor's now sad eyes found hers. He flinched a little as Pete raised his hand and reached out, but he didn't pull away. What happened next was inevitable. Pete pulled off the Doctor's hoody, then pulled down the bandana. 

Rose went pale. "John? You're the Doctor?"

John's eyes fell from hers to the ground, he didn't say anything. 

"Why?" she asked. 

Pete stepped closer. "Dr. Smith, I recommend that you say nothing at this time." He looked over his shoulder. "You and you!" He pointed to two agents. "Take this man into custody."

"But he's hurt!" Rose protested. 

"He'll get care," Pete said gravely. 

John let out a yelp as he was dragged up by the agents. He didn't make eye contact with Rose as the dragged him off, either. She watched him go, not sure what to say.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see what happens, shall we?

Early the next day, Rose made her way to Torchwood. She had been given a thorough examination after the incident by the medical team, and found to have a sprained knee and sore ankle, and multiple cuts and bruises. The bleeding on her face was from a small laceration near her hair line and they were able to glue it. She was scratched up and didn't look great, but she could walk. They had given her a brace, which she wore, but she refused crutches. She had gone home and showered, and attempted to sleep before the got the text asking for her to come back to Torchwood. But sleep did not come. She was stunned, worried and afraid for John. 

Now she drove in, tired, but anxious. John never once left her thoughts. 

She could have caught it. Now thinking back, they had both had said something about having too much on their plates, but she had missed it. 

Why did John do that? Was he helping only her? Why did he not tell her? Then even though all those questions went unanswered, she still had the unresolved situation with John. All the miscommunication that they had only made it worse. She had wanted to talk to him so badly, and now it all had blown up. Torchwood had him. She heard them talking as she was cleaned up by the medics. The words. "Hacking", "spying" and "breech" were all were flying around. Rose tried in vain to talk to her dad, but he would have nothing to do with her. "We'll talk about this later," he said. 

Rose hadn't been so frustrated in all her life. No one was listening. She couldn't even talk to John to explain herself. 

Her dad didn't come home that night, well technically it was morning. She tried to text and call him, as well as members of her team, but all she got was a report from Jake. Mickey and Claire were in the Torchwood hospital with very bad burns. Other agents were there too, some clinging to life. No one died... yet, and the being had been captured and terminated. 

Somehow that last bit of information made her feel even worse. She hadn't cried until she heard that. Even though no humans were killed, hearing that the alien being had been killed hurt. It was clearly scared and out of its element. Also the being that they had captured in the stairwell was now an orphan. 

Her phone went off again a little later and told her to come in for a debriefing. 

She showered again, put on her elastic bandage wrap on her ankle and brace on her knee as instructed, put on her loosest fatigue pants, as well as the rest of her uniform and went in. 

OoOoO

When she entered the main offices of Torchwood, located on the top floor, she saw him instantly. John smith sat in one of the upholstered chairs, head down. He didn't look up when she entered. He was seated next to a uniformed guard that Rose didn't recognize. John fidgeted a little in the chair, and Rose heard a small clank. She looked at him harder and saw that he was handcuffed, by the good arm, to a chair. His other arm was wrapped in gauze, but she could see stuff starting to ooze through. 

She hurried to him, but a look from the guard stopped her a few steps away. "John, are you alright?" she asked, trying to bend to catch his eyes. It was no use. He didn't move his head at all. 

Rose was about to try again when the door next to him opened. "Agent Tyler? Director Tyler will see you now." 

Rose turned, defeated, to the door. Even though this felt like it couldn't get any worse, it was about to. 

John Smith let out a long sigh as she limped away, slowly shaking his head.   
OoOoO

~Two hours earlier~  
After being treated for his burns for hours, excruciatingly painful hours, John was led to a holding cell. He waited there, unable to sleep, even rest, due to the pain, until a guard came and he was led to the lift, bound for the top floor. He knew where he was going, he had to face the music. His arm still hurt terribly but his burns weren't nearly as bad as the others. The being must have had been losing strength when it got him. But his arm, well before they bandaged it, was raw, red and oozing. He was warned that he would need further treatment, but he was clear to talk to the director. 

When the lift let them off, he was escorted by a burly guard who looked physically incapable of cracking a smile. The worst part was that John was handcuffed. The cuff around his injured arm moved with each step, rubbing on the burn. It caused pain to rocket up his arm again and again, even set to its widest setting. The guard had ahold of his good arm, roughly leading him around. Finally he was dropped into a chair in what looked like a boardroom. He knew that Torchwood had interrogation rooms, but this was not one of them. A camera had been set up to face him, with a microphone on the table before him.

A minute after he sat, Pete Tyler came in and took the seat across from him. Next to him sat Jake Simmonds. 

"Dr.Smith, " Pete said to John with a nod. 

"Director Tyler," John acknowledged back, noticing that his time, unlike at his home, Pete took the formal use of his name and didn't correct him. 

Pete said a few things toward the microphone, date time and who was in the room. Then he looked up at John. "I suppose you know why you are here."

"I do," John replied, although he wondered why he was in that particular room. 

Pete continued. "You have conducted a serious breach, Dr.Smith. Have you any idea how badly this could have gone? Not only were you hacking the system and providing unsolicited information, but you were causing an agent to be distracted by what could have been wrong information and making her think the assistance was coming from Torchwood. There are a hundred ways this could have gone bad, yet you kept it up."

"I had good information," John interjected.

Pete didn't even acknowledge his statement. "We searched your flat and found your home unit, as it was. We have confiscated all of it. You hacked into secure areas to do this. You have violated so many laws and policies, I can't even count them. Lastly, you put my teams at risk, and that is unacceptable."

Across the table, John was boiling. All he had done was provide help were help was needed. He didn't put anyone at risk. Arguments leapt to his lips, but he forced them back. There wasn't anything to say that could dig him out of this hole. They thought what they wanted to think. He could defend himself but it wouldn't help. He knew going in that what he had done was wrong as far as Torchwood saw it. He knew when he first started. He supposed that Rose could back him up, but would she? Everything he had done was either breaking law or Torchwood policy. There was no way out. 

He leaned back in his chair. "So where do we go from here? Do I get retconned? Incarcerated?" he asked.

Pete's stern expression didn't change. "Your employment will be terminated, there is no doubt. The rest I have to see about. This is far from over, Dr. Smith. As for right now, do you have anything to say?"

John thought for a moment. "Yes, I put something for testing. It's a tissue regenerator. I have personally tested it. But it may help those who are injured. I sent it for testing and it had worked well on my human analog. I know that those agents are dying. Please look into it. Other than that, I have nothing to add."

Pete eyed him for a moment, then picked up his phone and typed into it. Then he looked back to John. "You will be held until further notice. You are not under arrest. But you cannot leave until the investigation is completed. If you are wondering about a lawyer, it will not help now. We will meet again later today, at which time we will decide what will happen. For now, you are forbidden from talking with anyone, especially Rose Tyler."

John internally cringed at the mention of her name. It held so much emotion now, just those two words cause a maelstrom of regret, embarrassment, fear, and anger. He had dug himself such a deep hole with a Rose Tyler shaped blade that he couldn't see the light anymore. Everything he thought of, literally dreamed of, over the past three weeks had blown up in his face. He wasn't sure if he did talk to her that he would even know where to begin. Her recent rejection of him was only the tip of the iceberg, the iceberg that would undoubtedly sink his ship. He also knew that Torchwood stood outside the normal justice system, because of the level of secrecy that was required. His best bet was to do what was needed and pray the he would leave the building with his memories intact, even as his life was ruined. 

And he had ruined it, hadn't he? His curiosity and sticking his nose in where it did not belong only mucked up everything. For what? Interest in a girl? Maybe trying to make her life safer, even though she was doing a superior job all by herself? No, he had ruined it all, his life, his job, everything.

He was pulled to standing, Director Tyler apparently done. John hadn't listened to the last part of what he said, his head was swimming, something about waiting for someone to take him somewhere. All he knew was that he was now seated in a chair in the lobby of the director's office, miserable and hurting. It could not have gotten worse. Well at least until a pair of agent's boots came into view and he heard Rose' Tyler's voice. That capped it. She asked if he was alright. 

What right did she have to know? Darkness consumed him. He didn't move a muscle. Then she got called in. A minute later, another guard came to retrieve him. 

OoOOo

Rose sat at the table with her father and Jake opposite her. She suppressed a shiver. She had been disciplined by her father hundreds of times, but this was different. He looked like an entirely different man. 

He started the recorder and started to speak. After the formalities, he addressed her. "Tell me exactly how this started and your part in it. "

Rose sat back in her chair, took a deep breath and started form the beginning. 

A half hour later she finished. She had given it all. How he had saved her, twice, how he gave her hints, but only when needed. How he had been able to help so profoundly when it was needed with advice on the different beings and how he had put his own life on the line for her. Then she sat back and waited. 

Pete wiped his face with his hand. "That's all well and good, but what he did was wrong. Very, very wrong. It could have gone south so many ways."

Rose leaned forward. "It didn't. John knew what he was doing. I have no doubt that I would not be sitting here if it wasn't for him. "

Pete took a long slow breath. "I need time to think on this."

"What will happen to John?" she asked, eyes widening. 

"Dr. Smith is being held right now. I will determine the rest later today."

"Where is he?"

Pete fixed her with a warning look. "Go home Rose, stay home until you are recovered or released to light duty. This is not a matter for you now."

No, this was not OK. Rose leaned forward on the table, her elbows on it, lifting out of her seat. "Why? Because I wasn't a part of it?" she asked sarcastically. "Because I was. He was saving me." She softened, sitting again. "Please, I need to know that he will leave here with his memories and his life intact. At least give him that. Dad, he saved me." She mustered the sweetest look she could, trying to make Pete think back to who she was, his daughter, asking for a favor. 

Pete now sat back. "I'm... leaning towards that. I need to go back and track his activities. That will take a few hours. I will take the situation into advisement. It has not been lost on me that he saved you and was an asset, as twisted up as it may be." He paused again and took another breath, looking up at his daughter, his face now the one she recognized, her tired father, but the one she knew thought things through, ever the good business man. He ran two empires. He could figure this situation out. 

It took a moment for him to speak again. "If it looks how I think it will, and I shouldn't be telling you this, but if we can prove that his intentions were benign, he will be stripped of his employment, but given an employment alibi, that means he will have something to put on his resume, but he must deny anything about us and never speak of us. If he does, he will most certainly be retconned. He will have no contact with anyone here and will be forced to move his livelihood. That is the standard for people who leave Torchwood. "

Rose suppressed her hopeful smile. "He's a good man, dad. He saved me. He was doing the right thing. I'm convinced that he was doing something that should be done anyway. "

"Rose, don't," Pete said firmly, putting up a hand to stop her. "You are to have no contact with him, at all. You need to just let him go. I don't know what was between you, but it's officially over now. You never knew him. Now go home."

Rose stood and left without another word, Pete's few statements bouncing around in her head like ping pong balls. It was funny. She had never thought about the possible relationship angle. It hadn't played a role at all in her trying to convince her father to let John off the hook. 

But now it was all she could think of. What was between them?

Nothing. Nothing was between them, all because of her being stupid. And now there never would be anything. How could this have been so screwed up? And now he would never know how she really felt. She thought about trying to find out where he was being kept, but not only was that stupid and dangerous, but nearly impossible. Torchwood had at least 50 holding cells, as well as many other kinds of holding facilities, some off site. She would never find him, heck she would probably not even get past security. 

This was over. She hated it, but she had to accept it. 

OoOoOo

Later that day, John reclined on the single bed in his holding area. It was set up more like a small dorm room than a cell. It had a bed, a dresser and an attached ensuite. When he had been put in there, he thought that maybe he would have to stay there indefinitely. As it turned out, it was about seven hours. In that time he slept, mostly because he was given pain medicine for his arm. Under normal situations, he didn't like to take anything for pain. It slowed his brain down. But his arm pain was relentless. It felt like it was still being burned, every nerve was alive and screaming. It was taking everything he had just to keep his breathing under control. So when medicine was offered, he took it, at that point he would have done almost anything to quiet the pain, all the pain, including the one in his heart. 

An hour after dinner was given to him, he heard a knock at the door. He figured it was someone coming for the dishes, but why knock? It was a secure place. Then the door opened and he knew why. Pete was there with a few others. One was a scientist from the testing department, and another agent. 

John raised an eyebrow.   
Pete spoke first. "Dr.Smith, I trust you found your accommodations adequate."

John faked a smile through gritted teeth. "Oh yes, yes," John said ,"Quite nice I must say, if I have to be locked up."

Pete ignored the sarcasm. "I imagine you know Dr. Conrad. He has some questions for you regarding the tissue regenerator. I have to speak with you also, but I'll have him go first. "

John nodded at the doctor. He had met him several times when examining or working on things he had found in the archives. They weren't friendly, but he always found Dr.Conrad to be smart and well intentioned. John hoped that the doctor had not come to tell him that the tissue regenerator was not going to work. It may be his only saving grace at Torchwood to get out of there as a whole person. 

Dr.Conrad took a seat in front of John, who was still on the bed. "John, first, I have to tell you that this is a magnificent find. I see that you're made some modifications to it."

John nodded eagerly, his attention now fully on the other man. "Yes, one of the settings was too high, causing blistering in the human analog. But I figured out how to adjust it."

"I wondered about that. OK then I have a few more questions. You should know that we are seriously considering using this on the burn victims. They are not responding to conventional care. I mean we have had to induce coma in them just to keep them alive. The pain is horrendous."

John smirked, shifting. Dr. Conrad looked at him and winced. "I guess you would know. I wish we could start treatment immediately on them, but we have to see how it works. I just hope no one passes before the tests are complete-"

"Use it on me",John said quickly.

"What?" Dr.Conrad asked, mouth slightly open. 

"Use it on me," John asserted. 

"John, we still aren't sure what it all does yet. It could kill yo-"

John broke in his voice rushed, "If I live through the treatment, then you can use it on them. I consent to the testing." He looked up at Pete. "I consent. Please do it now."

Dr.Conrad turned to Pete who nodded slowly. The doctor sighed an reached into the pocket of his lab coat, drawing out the device. 

John eyed it carefully as Dr.Conrad turned it over in his hands. Then without any more delay, John quickly went about removing his bandages. It was painful and he had to stop a few times because they were stuck. It was clear that his wounds weren't healing either. When he was unwrapped he held his arm out in front of him. It took a minute for him to free himself, but when he was done he held out a shaking arm to the man in front of him. 

Then, he gave instructions to Dr. Conrad for settings, his voice now weaker, shaking. 

Dr.Conrad had him lay on his side, his arm out from his body at an angle. When John was situated, a buzzing sound filled the room as Dr.Conrad carefully swiped the device over John's arm. Imediately John let out a painful growl, only to have Dr.Conrad pull the device away. "Does it hurt?" he asked. 

"Yes, but not as bad as the burn. Please, keep going.," John ground out. With a nod, Dr. Conrad began again. Everyone in the room had eyes glued to John's arm. Slowly, very slowly, the skin started to knit. John made painful growls and howled throughout, his breaths drawing ragged. 

John had to ask only twice for Dr.Conrad to stop, mainly because the pain was so intense he was starting to hyperventilate. 

But twenty minutes later, Dr.Conrad sat back, as John's head flopped back on the bed, covered in sweat, breathing heavily. 

"How do you feel John?" asked Dr.Conrad, after a few moments. 

John took a few more breaths, running his hand over his face and head, wiping the sweat away. "That was painful." He paused. "But not any more." He slowly moved his arm up and down, bending it. He slowly sat up, his face alight with a grin. "The pain is completely gone now." He looked all around his arm. All that remained was a bright pink swirl were the tentacle had wrapped around his arm. It looked as if he had had a pink ribbon wrapped around his arm from wrist to shoulder. 

John smiled looking at it, then at Dr.Conrad, then to Pete. "It works. The pain is gone. I think that if we were to treat it again the scarring would go away too. But- " he swiftly put his arm down, "that's for a later time. If you are to use this on the victims, you will need to keep them comatose. Pain of this intensity may kill them. "

Dr. Conrad stood. "Noted. But we hadn't had any plans of waking them yet. Those that were conscious in the beginning were just screaming."

It made perfect sense to John. He couldn't imagine pain worse that what he had, and the agents not only had more contact with the tentacles, they also had it for longer. He looked at Dr.Conrad. "Please, use it on them as soon as you can. It may save them. "

Dr.Conrad looked to Pete, who simply said, "Go." And with that, he was off. 

That left Pete, a guard and John in the room. Pete and John watched each other carefully, silence like a toxic cloud. 

Finally Pete spoke. "You have violated so much Torchwood policy that your write up was ten pages. What you did was stupid and careless. Offences less than this has led people to being retconned and sent away with nothing. "

Now John was staring straight ahead, waiting for it to happen, his eyes falling from Pete to the floor. It was over and he knew it.   
Instead, he felt something fall on the bed next to him. He turned to it. It was his phone, he picked it up and looked at Pete, who still wasn't smiling. 

"Why did you just give me my phone?" John asked. 

"I'm giving you your phone back because you are being let go. But we have wiped all of your information, even in the cloud. We have cleansed your pictures, taking away anything that could possibly lead to Torchwood. Lastly, we have removed all your contacts. But you can have the phone back. "

"Thanks,"John deadpanned. 

Pete continued,"You are to have no contact with anyone here. You basically have to forget that you ever stepped through our doors. If not, if you do anything to contact or release information, you will be immediately retconned, and sent somewhere. You will have no memories. I can assure you that it is now a good situation. There will be zero tolerance. Is that clear?"

"Yes. Am I free to go?" John stood.

"Yes, your flat has been completely cleaned out. Contact your bank, it has been purchased by an unknown buyer and the money is in your account. There is a moving truck parked outside that is waiting for you to tell it where to go. If you don't not have a destination, it will be stored for up to one month."

John hung his head. "I don't really have anywhere to go. At least right now."

Pete ignored the last statement and continued. "Lastly, there will be a history specialist that will come in next to make your backstory. Then those elements will be added to information systems as needed. You will have work history and education history, also as needed. When they call for references, they will be calling here and will speak to someone that will know your story. Good luck Dr. Smith."

"One question, director?"

'Yes?"

"I thought I was going to be incarcerated, retconned or worse. Why not?"

Pete waited a beat, looking in John's eyes. "You saved my daughter. If you hadn't, all those things might have happened. She wouldn't let anything happen to you. So, you can thank her. Actually, you can't. Even though you are leaving with your memories intact, please try to forget about Torchwood and ...everyone here." He waited another beat. "Someone will be in soon to build your resume. But you will be out of here in an hour. "

John nodded, "Thanks."

"This never happened," was all Pete said as he walked out. 

OoOo

An hour and one resume later, John walked out of Torchwood. He was handed a box with things that were on his desk and workspace, but it didn't amount to much once it had all been gone through. 

He was escorted out of the building by a guard and tried not to make eye contact with anyone. The only one that saw him was Emma, and she gave him a sad smile. 

As he climbed into his car, he saw that even his parking sticker had been removed. Well, they were nothing if not thorough. 

He pulled out onto the street and it occurred to him that he didn't have the faintest idea where to do next. The only things he had with him were a flash drive with this resume and CV, the note telling him who to contact for the destination of the truck and the things from his desk. There was no getting into the truck until he knew where to put it, so with a sad sigh, he drove to a department store for the essentials, then to a hotel to try to figure it all out. 

That night, he sat sat amongst takeout boxes on the bed, holding the phone. He could go against it all and call her to thank her. But really had no idea even if he wanted to. It was an infatuation that led to a bad decision, several of them actually. And contacting her would be the straw that broke the camel's back. He was best letting it all go. He could build a new world for himself, but he just wished he had had a chance to see if Rose Tyler fit in it. After all the emotional and injury pain, he still ached about the night of the gala. He figured it was a sting that may only fade with a lot of time. 

Losing his flat and job were enough. It would take a while to sort out the things with the bank, his history, and whatever else. It was frustrating to know that his life had undergone a cleansing. No contacts, no pictures, nothing that could have linked him to Torchwood. Years of his life and work had vanished, wiped clean. He smiled just a little to himself though, There was one thing Pete never would know, John used contacts for speed, not accuracy. He had memorized any number he had ever had in there. Not that he ever would, but he got a very small measure of light from the thought that he didn't lose everything.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moving right along!

When John left the building with the guard, there was another set of eyes on him that he did not see. Rose Tyler stepped up next to Emma just after John passed her. She just stood there, watching him go. His gait was completely different, he no longer had confident strides, but slower, shorter ones. His shoulders were drooped and his face, what she could see of it, was ashen. Had she not known it was him, she may not have recognized him. 

Even though she was supposed to not be there, she was. She had gone home to sleep that night, but was right back in the morning insisting that the Torchwood doctor clear her. He reluctantly did, but with strong warnings. Next Rose kept in close contact with Emma so see when John would be let go and in what condition. 

Rose knew that part of John's posture was due to her. She hadn't had the chance to right anything that she had done and knew that now she would never get to. The man that walked out the doors was broken, partially due to her, well mostly due to her. At least he looked to have all of his faculties intact. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

OoOoOo  
3 months later  
As Rose ran full tilt down the corridor, the seven foot biped chasing her, she asked, no screamed, for directions. The building they were in was built onto again and again and had no rhyme or reason to its layout. She took a chance, turned to the right, hoping that would put her near and exit. That's when she ran headlong into a wall. She bounced off, turning to face her pursuer.

It was supposed to be an easy job, in and out in an hour, cleaning up the nest, but no one knew there was a mate. A mad mate. She was terrified and angry and she blindsided the agents. 

Rose turned, making herself as tall as she could to face the raging female. The being towered over her, its elongated face twisted into a snarl, drool hanging from its gaping mouth. She started to lunge, but was stopped a nanosecond before contacting Rose by a violent seizure, dropping it to the ground. Only then did Rose see the taser wires stuck to her back. A second later Mickey came sauntering around the corner. He zapped the being once more, then looked to her. 

" I saved you, you owe me ice cream."

Rose frowned. "If we would have had correct intel, you wouldn't have needed to. "

"What? Jake had good intel." 

Rose shook her head, still catching her breath. "So we go into a building, blind, looking to clean up a nest and find the belligerent mate. She could have killed me! This is ludicrous!" 

"What, you want your own personal helper again? I don't need one." retorted Mickey in a mocking tone. 

"If it weren't for him, I'd be dead, all of us would! He saved you too!" Rose yelled, stalking off. 

Mickey looked at the being ,unconscious at his feet. "Wait, what about this thing?" He yelled after her. 

"You said it yourself, you don't need any help," she called over her shoulder. 

OoOoOo

The sun shown on John's face as he walked out of his cottage on the grounds of Wellington school. Today was warmer than it had been and he could smell the flowers in the garden along which the rich soil in which they were planted. This was a beautiful campus, ripe with history. Everything was the same from when he had gone here as a lad. 

Even the cottages that housed the faculty were the same. His place was a small space to live in, but worked in a pinch. He had every intention of getting a place in town in the coming months, but he had to move in quickly or store all that Torchwood had moved for him. His job offer had come quickly after he submitted his resume. He wondered who had given him the reference at Torchwood. It could have been anyone really, reading from a script. But since he had spent his formative years there, it was a good place to land. He knew the history, the buildings, well everything. He even knew the hiding places and the ways the boys got into trouble. He wasn't a trouble maker per se in his time there, but he was a curious boy who seemed to find things easily. . That, coupled with the fact that he finished his lessons quickly and had a photographic memory, gave him just enough time on his hands to explore. His favorite place was the caves under the school. Everyone heard tale of the catacombs that the school was built over but no student was ever able to find them and they had remained a myth. 

But John found them. It wasn't hard, a little investigating an a little removal of plaster and voila, he had access to anywhere. He used them as personal highways to all over the grounds as well as a place to go where no one could bother him, where he could read for hours without interruption. Years later he heard that more boys had found them and that they had been sealed again. It was sad to hear, but he figured that ultimately it was good, considering that he had spent one very cold night lost in them once. It could have been very dangerous. 

Even though he couldn't talk about Torchwood, his thought frequently flitted back there. He couldn't help it, he had given years of his life to them. But the thought of that place still gave him heartburn. He really had liked working there. It was an incredible opportunity to work somewhere, have top of the line equipment and some of the brightest minds he had ever been with. He was still among bright minds though, but this time they were young bright minds. He had gifted boys from all over in his classes. They provided endless humor, inspiration and frustration, all packed into the school day. The pay wasn't as great as at Torchwood, but he had little or no expenses yet so he hadn't had to think about it. 

The money from the sale of his flat just sat in an account for now. Waiting for him to make up his mind on a house. 

This place was not without distraction too. The school nurse, Nurse Redfern had taken to him immediately. John figured it was because he was relatively young compared to a lot of the older teachers there. 

He had had lunch and dinner with her a few times, and though she was clearly attracted to him, he still wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his heart.The situation with Rose had left a huge hole in it. And being exiled from Torchwood and never being allowed to contact her again didn't allow for any healing. He had hoped he would think of her less over time, but apparently that time had not come yet. It wasn't as if he was obsessing over her, but when his mind wasn't occupied with other pursuits, or he was particularly anxious, he would replay the events of the car ride. It was a cruel thing his mind did to him when his defenses weren't up. Nothing like a reminder of failure when you already felt down. 

John walked through the garden attached to the school. It was a Saturday and some of the boys had gone into town, but some stayed around to study, do hobbies and such. He came across one such boy, sitting on s stone bench. He seemed to be scribbling or drawing in a book. 

"Hello William," John said to the young man. He was about twelve, but short and skinny for his age. He was a smart boy, insanely smart by John's account, but shy and reserved. A lot of the boys picked on him because he was at the school on scholarship and a grade ahead, which made his size even more evident. He also had no parents. They had been killed when he was very young, and he apparently spent his life with a disgruntled uncle, who quickly saw to it that he was deposited in a boarding school as soon as he could finagle a scholarship. No one had visited him since. 

The boy started at John's salutation and snapped the book shut. "H-Hello Dr.Smith," he stammered. 

John sat next to the boy and sighed deeply. "Beautiful day isn't it? You didn't need to go into town?"

William shook his head ."No, not really. Maximus was going, and he and I don't get on well. So I decided to stay here, I have things to do anyway."

"I know they get after you, William, but you are so much smarter than them. I know what it's like, I was in a similar situation in my youth. Understand two things though. First, if I see anything, I will personally end it. You can come to me with anything if you feel bullied or uncomfortable. "

William was quiet for a moment. "His dad is one of the biggest benefactors of this school. He's not even smart enough to be here! But his dad pays a lot of money so he is. He can do no wrong here."

John looked down at the boy. He felt for him, he had also literally been in his shoes twenty something years before. "I know, but I'm not afraid of people like that. I'm telling you, you come to me. I'll set it right. "

William nodded unconvincingly. "And the second thing you had?"

"It gets better. Eventually the smart start to prevail, you'll grow and people like him fade away. It gets better, I'm living proof."

Rather than showing the relief he had hoped for, William was getting agitated."When? When does it get better Dr.Smith?"

"Before you know it."

"I think I'll make it better," William said. 

John raised an eyebrow. "How?"

William stood, looking right at John, but at the same time John could tell that the boy's thoughts were a million miles away. "It's little things, Dr.Smith. I can do little things to make changes. I have to go now."

John stood too. "I'd like to talk about this further, can we do that?"

"I really don't think it will be a problem, but whatever you want," said William, shrugging, he then turned and walked into the school. 

Something about William's demeanor didn't sit well with John. The boy had never shown a proclivity for violence, quite the opposite. But there was something there, something that sat behind his eyes. It almost looked like resolution. One thing for sure, it was not normal in boys his age. For sure John would have a chat with the school psychologist just in case. Boys like William could be ticking time bombs. 

OoOoOo

On Monday morning, John made it to class before his students. He was setting up an intricate physics experiment that always was a crowd pleaser. His mood on that day was more buoyant than before. Things were moving ahead. He had put money down on a condominium in town and had purchased a nice bike to ride to the school if weather permitted. The bike ride would be 15 minutes, or 10 by car. He even had a sunny little back garden where he could plant vegetables if he wanted, too. It still struck him how different his life was, now getting excited at the prospect of cultivating land and growing food, whereas months before he was taking alien tech that had fallen through the rift and analyzing it, or making new tech gadgets. 

Occasionally he had a twinge of reminder about the not so great stuff too. The week prior he had unknowingly set his jacket down on an anthill and when he put it on again got multiple bites on his arms. He had gone to nurse Redfern to be sure it wasn't bad and maybe procure some cream for the itching. But when he did, she saw the leftover scar from the burns around his arm. Normally he wore long sleeves, but when down to his vest top it was evident. The skin had mostly healed, but remnants remained. Had he had a second treatment, they most likely would have gone away. But as it was, he had to make up a story on the fly about how he got the scar. She seemed convinced, but it left John feeling terrible, and he spent the rest of the day in a funk. 

That episode led to a host of thoughts and memories about what he used to do. And of course, Rose popped back into his head. It was unfair how often it happened. 

But on that day, John was happy and excited. This lesson was his favorite. He eagerly anticipated seeing the smiles of the students as they started to grasp the concept before them.  
His mobile vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out and looked at it briefly. Nothing, just a junk email. Without another thought, he slipped it back into his pocket. He normally didn't bring his mobile on his person, but usually in his messenger bag, but today he had it in case he needed to answer an email or a text about the condo. He had forgotten how many little details there were. 

As the boys filed into class, most grumbling about having to be there at all, John counted heads. One was missing. 

"Where's William?"he asked the boys. 

There was some chuckling and finally Maximus spoke up. "He had some cleaning up to do, he should be here soon."

John frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. "What did you do?"

Maximus put a hand to his chest. "I didn't do anything, Dr.Smith. But it seems that poor little William had an accident at the water fountain. He looks like he wee'd his pants. But that was a while ago, I have no idea what he could have gotten himself into since then."

All the boys got a good laugh at that. 

The phrase "if looks could kill" did nothing to explain the expression that crossed John's face, the intensity of which made the room go silent in an instant. Even the smug smile on Maximus's face dropped. 

John's voice grew cold. "If you boys did anything to him I will personally see to it that your future at this school is over. IS THAT CLEAR?"

The tone of his voice, with the look on his face made blood run cold throughout all the boys in the class. Bright, rosy cheeks went pale at the threat. No one spoke. 

John drew a slow breath. "Where is he now? No jokes, I want to know."

The boys all looked at each other. Everyone afraid to say anything. Then, a little hand went up. One of the smaller boys had something to say. 

John softened his voice a tad, so as not to make the boy die of fright. "Yes, Marcus? Did you see him?"

The boy looked around. No one but John was looking at him. "I-I saw William, he was going down the stairs leading to the boiler room. I told him we weren't allowed down there but he just looked at me. He was crying, but also really mad. "

"Thank you Marcus, and as for the rest of you, you better hope I find him in good shape. "

With that, John stepped outside of the class, flagged down a teaching assistant to watch his class, and went to look for William.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes! This didn't post. Then I posted the wrong chapter! I'm good now!

The stairs down to the basement boiler room creaked under his feet and John wondered if any adult had been on them in the last twenty years. The heating system for the school had long since been updated and there was no reason for the antiquated system that was housed there anymore. 

When he got to the bottom, his question was answered. All around him were old classroom fixtures, most in disrepair or just really really old. A thick layer of dust covered everything. Everything except the floor, which had a lot of small foot prints. Someone had been coming and going, fairly frequently by the looks of it. They also gave him something to follow. The basement itself was fairly big, and had been used for various purposes over the years including classrooms at one point when the school needed space. But now they were filled with memories of years gone by, old globes, some fifty plus years old. John would have loved to stop and look at the antiques, but there was no time. He could hear noise, well a voice, and something else coming from up ahead. 

The "something else" was what concerned him. It wasn't an earthly sound, but more like screeching and groaning. But it was rhythmic, like it was some sort of language. He wished he had gotten the universal translator that the agents got, but also at the same time realized he would have been stripped of that too. He got to a doorway but stopped short. The door was slightly ajar and he leaned in to listen. 

A familiar voice drifted to him. "I know you're hungry. You'll eat soon. I just have to figure out how to get them down here. Or I could bring you up I suppose. But I don't know what I could clean the mess. You are quite a messy eater."

There was a low whooshing sound in reply.

John recognized the voice, it was William. Just as he thought, William was up to something. But now his fears were worse. The boy had something he shouldn't. 

John had to get a look. Slowly he eased open the door. At first he only saw the boy facing to the side, looking intently at something. Then he saw it. In front of William was a being, larger than John, but it looked to be sitting or crouched. That was, until the door creaked ever so slightly, and the head of the beast whipped up, its eyes finding John. Then it stood to its full height. It was now standing over six feet tall. It was deep purple in color, its front appendages looked a little like folded wings but also arms,bent just so they touched the ground in front of it. On then end each of those appendages there were multiple spikes, each about two feet long. It growled menacingly at John, and William turned to look too. 

"Dr.Smith!" the boy said. "Look what I found. This is my pet, his name is Simon." The boy wore a proud smile as he addressed him. It occurred to John at that moment that this boy had no idea what he had or that it was in any way bad. "You can come in, Dr.Smith. Simon has a chain on." 

Indeed as the boy said that, there was a distinct clank of a heavy chain on the concrete floor. 

John took a tentative step in, only to have the alien strain against that very chain. 

"William?" he asked tentatively, "Do you know what you have here?"

William looked back at the being and smiled. "I don't know what he is, but he's my friend. I found him when he was a baby and he grew."

"When was that?" John asked, now afraid to do in any farther. "Simon" was pulling hard on the chain now and John was concerned for it breaking free. 

"Oh, I found him at the beginning of the term. He was in the garden under a plant. He was crying so I saved him. And when I fed him he grew," William answered nonchalantly, as if telling him about a cat. 

"What do you feed him?"

"At first it was bugs, but then he graduated to mice. Then we moved to rats. Last week I had him out at night and he got a fox. It was really cool!" the boy enthused. 

John shook his head lightly. This boy had no idea. He had been in such a bad state that all he wanted was for something to like him. When he found it, he didn't realize that his being could kill. He was just impressed that something needed him. 

"Um William, I heard you telling Simon that you were going to feed him. Ah- what were you going to feed him? "

"Oh, I promised that he could eat Maximus," the boy said, without a hint of remorse. It was just a statement of fact. Like he had just said he was going to feed it a sandwich. At that moment, John knew just how big of trouble they were in. William had no idea that what he was doing was wrong. Getting mad at the lad would not work, not for this, he would have to try to talk to him. 

"William," he started with a calm a voice as possible, "we can't just sic our friends on other people to eat them." He couldn't believe those words just came out of his mouth. "Maximus is a person. We can't just kill him." 

William stood up a little taller. "But Simon is hungry! He needs to eat! I told him I would take care of him. Maximus is mean. It would be good if Simon ate him. Then he'd be sorry."

Oh boy. This kid had completely lost his marbles. John had no idea where to go from there. 

But then he had a flicker of an idea. That flicker then burst to life. "William, I have a friend, her name is Rose, she may be able to help us. She can help Simon find his family-"

"I'm his family! And he is mine!" William bellowed, making Simon pull harder on the chain. Behind the beast, John could hear cracking. Whatever Simon was chained to was beginning to break. 

John backed away a little, closer to a wall. "It's OK, she can help us all," he lied," but don't you think he may want another place to be? Living here in this basement isn't a very good home."

William brightened. "Maybe, but I want to go with him." He reached up, putting his hand on the beast's head and it lunged towards John, only to he stopped by its chain. 

John flinched back, the wood of the wall hitting his back. "I think we could talk about that," John agreed, "can I call my friend?"

"OK," said William. Even as he had his hand on Simon, the beast strained. 

With his eyes on the alien, John slowly lowered his hand to his trouser pocket for his phone. 

William turned to Simon. "See, some people are OK. I know you want to, but you can't eat Dr. Smith. He's nice." Simon didn't seem to notice.

Carefully John started to pull out his phone. His movement caused Simon to lunge again. The cracking of the wall and the chain clanking on the ground as Simon broke free were accompanied by William's screams. "No! Stop! Simon!" The boy was franticly grabbing for the now free chain as the alien ran towards John. 

Simon was inches away when he lurched back. The boy had him. But now Simon was struggling, reaching out with his spiked arms. He was off balance, with William pulling on him, but his eyes were locked on target. With lightning quick speed, he pulled one spiked arm back by his head, and with mighty force, extended, striking John in the leg, the spikes piercing through him, and stopping in the wall. 

John let out an anguished scream, pain exploding in his leg. Meanwhile, Simon was being tugged back, all with the yells of William. "No! He's our friend! "

Somehow the boy was able to pull the beast back. But as he did, the spikes, two of them, remained in John's leg, leaving him pinned him to the wall. 

John was stunned, the pain was excruciating, but he made no further noise. He just watched in horror as the boy tugged and pulled his friend back, though it fought him the whole way. William pulled Simon off to the right, and for the first time John saw an opening. It was a hole in the wall, one that had been there for years, with plywood off to the side that had been pried off. William had found an entrance to the caves. 

With strength belying his little body, William pushed Simon through the hole, the beast protested loudly, but eventually went. "You can't just eat everyone!" the boy yelled, "Go find mice!"

He turned and gave a sad look back to John. "I'm sorry, Dr.Smith. He's hungry. I need to feed him."

John went to speak, but only groaned. As the boy disappeared into the cave, John's eyes flitted to the blood seeping from his wounds. The spikes went clear through his leg and into the wall behind, pinning him to the wall. 

His hand still was gripped to the phone in his pocket, and he slowly pulled it out.

John's vision was going in and out of focus. He had to call Rose. It was his only hope. If he called for help from anyone else, meaning someone at the school above, they would be in danger. But there was one person that could help, he just hoped she would. 

OoOooo

Rose sat at a desk at Torchwood, writing a report. Her last two calls had been wild goose chases. Months ago there had been some media coverage associated with the alien that injured John and the others, and even though it was mostly, quashed, if still had gotten people's attention. So as a consequence, people were calling the police for every little thing. Jake had gotten so sick of follow up, he had assigned Rose to it. The only good thing about it was that Rose had become close with Emma. They found that they had a lot in common in the times Rose had to sit in the tech room reviewing CCTV footage. 

There had been some areas of concern, and Rose was monitoring them closely, but so far nothing. Next to her, her phone vibrated. She picked it up and looked at the screen, her eyes widening. It said "John Smith". She slipped it off the desk and darted out of the room and into an empty one. She hadn't deleted his contact, she wasn't sure why, but she knew that all his were deleted. She pecked at the screen to open the call twice, because her surprise and anxiety over the possibility of him calling made her miss it the first time.

"Hello? John?" she said into the phone. 

On the other end there was heavy breathing. Rose nearly ended the call when she heard a ragged breath. "Rose?" came a weak and shaky voice.

"Yes, John, it's me. Are you OK?"

There was a light chuckle on the other end. "Not so much, I'm in trouble." He took a second to breathe.

"Where are you?" she asked. 

Another ragged breath. "Wellington School. In the basement."

"What happened?" Her words rushed out. 

"One of the boys, found something... I've never seen it before... It had spikes. It's in the caves under the school... It wants to kill." John was breathing heavily between his statements. 

"Wait, John. I had a call from near there. Someone called something in. We were looking at it but had nothing to go on. What happened to you? Are you alright?"

Heavy breathing. "No, it got me...Spikes through the leg... I'm trapped... You need to come. "

"We can be there in fifteen minutes by helicopter." Rose stepped into the hallway and started for Jake's office. 

There was only breathing on the other end. Then, "Rose, if I'm not here when you get here-"

"What do you mean? You said you were trapped. "

"Trapped and bleeding."

Rose's blood ran cold. John was dying. "John, you just hang on, don't hang up the phone. I'm coming. Just stay awake, OK?"

The only sound on the other end was the clattering of the phone hitting the floor and the low moan from John. 

OoOoOo

Rose had never run so fast, talked so fast or assembled anything as fast as she did that day. Somehow she was able to get Jake and her team into the helicopter in less than five minutes. The Torchwood helicopters were always ready, and it was able to take off nearly immediately. None of it was fast enough for Rose. 

When she had burst into Jake's office, the look on her face alone made him stand. Her explanation was fast and concise. "Alien, in the basement below Wellington school. It attacked John Smith. He's dying, " was all she had to say. 

Now in the helicopter, Jake was calling the local law enforcement and telling them that a bomb threat had been called in and that all of the children and staff needed to be evacuated as fast as possible and and far away as possible. 

Rose kept her phone pressed to her ear throughout. The call hadn't ended, but all she ever heard was the occasional gasp for breath. She tapped on her knee anxiously. The teams were all back and healed after the acid tentacles incident. Some didn't even have scars to show. It was amazing. Dr.Conrad had been there with the device John had worked on and it had saved people's lives. They were now in the process of adapting it for field medics to use. It was already preliminarily out there on a few of the teams. 

When the helicopter crested a hill, Wellington school and the associated buildings came into view. Rose's team was to be the first in, with other teams arriving shortly. She scanned the scenery. Little cottages were lined up to the east of the school that included a few large football pitches as well as other play areas. But something by one of the cottages caught her eye. The bright blue sports car. John's car. The sight hit her right in the heart. It was the last place they were together, when he was taking her home, before everything blew up.

That thought did nothing for her nerves. She hadn't stopped missing John, or feeling sorry for what happened to him and them. It was a open sore that she had difficulty ignoring. She hadn't told anyone, but just the thought of him hurt. 

When the copter landed, the team all got out. It was Jake, Claire, Mickey and Rose. Jake quickly checked with the local cops who were a little baffled to see a "bomb" squad show up by helicopter. Jake gave very little explanation, leaving that to the next team, before they all ran into the school.

The door to the basement was easy to find and Rose insisted on going first down the stairs. When she got there though, she was faced with old chairs and desks, dust relics of the school's past, but no John. 

There was no noise at all. She had kept listening to her phone, and calling out into it, hoping for a response, but there was nothing. 

They followed the footsteps though, some small, some adult size, into another room, and that's where Rose found him. 

He was slumped, as slumped as he could be with one leg extended and his body pinned to the wall by two stark white spikes. There was a pool of blood on the floor and Rose had to bite back a scream. She ran to him though, putting her hands on his face and straightening him up. 

"John?" she patted his face, his pale face, lightly. "John?" She felt for a pulse. It was there, weak, thready, but there. "John?" she asked a third time before his eyes started to flutter open.

A weak smile crossed John's lips. "Rose? Why are you here?" he asked weakly.

Tears sprung to her eyes. "I'm here to repay the favor for you saving me."

He quirked an eyebrow, then looked down. "I'm trapped," he said simply. 

"I know, I'm here to save you. Just keep calm. He medics are on the way. Jake, we need a tourniquet on this leg. The he's losing a lot of blood. "

John groaned loudly as Jake strapped on the tourniquet to his upper leg and turned the windlass. But he didn't protest beyond that. At least the bleeding stopped. 

"There we go John," Rose said, hands still on his face. 

All emotion dropped from John's face. "I'm so tired." He started to slump forward. Rose quickly stepped forward, putting her hands around him like a hug, catching him. 

"John, hang in there, stay awake, OK?"

He nodded into her shoulder. 

Behind her, Jake spoke. "Dr.Smith, do you know what this is?"

John lifted his head only, suddenly more businesslike. "I don't know. Never seen it before. But it's a carnivore. And it shoots spikes."

"That I gathered," Jake said. "Rose, stay here with him. The medics will be here straight away. We'll go after it. "

The team started off and John stiffened. His voice was really weak. "Rose, tell them that the caves are all interconn---interconnected. They are very difficult to navigate. Be- be careful. There is a... boy with it. He... doesn't know..." Then he slumped back onto her. 

Rose yelled at the team what John said, hoping against hope that those were not his last words. 

The two of them stood there, Rose holding John, and listening to his increasingly ragged breaths. It occurred to Rose that the last time they had been so close was at the gala, then it all had gone to hell. Now she held him, the weight of his body getting heavier and his breaths slower by the minute. 

She had to keep him awake. "John?"

"Hmm?" he hummed into her shoulder. 

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked, more like whispered, in her ear.

"For what I said to you in the car. I-I like, you, a lot. I was fooling around and being stupid. I didn't even remember the next day. I had to find out from Emma. I can't believe how stupid I was or how I hurt you. But I like you. I really do. It was horrible when you got fired. I miss you, I miss the Doctor. Can you forgive me?"

She felt John get heavier in her arms. She thought he may have been reacting to her statements, but he didn't say anything. 

"John?" Rose knew how bad this was for John to think about now, but she had to get it out. She pulled back a little, hoping to get a look at him, but his body followed, he was unconscious.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok Chapter 16 did not post properly. We're good now I think.   
> Ready for a little more adventure? Here you go!

Rose had never been more relieved to see anyone as she was to see the medics rounding the corner, led by members of another Torchwood team. John had two IVs almost immediately, even as Rose held him. He was still breathing weakly, but an oxygen mask was put on his face too. Rose looked up at one of the IV fluid bags, it was white in color, well, more beige. She hadn't said anything when the medics got there other than to tell them he was pinned to the wall and he had lost a lot of blood. They worked quickly to try to stabilize him, telling her to stay put if she could until they could figure out how to get him down. 

"What are you giving him?" she asked, indicating the whiteish bag. 

"Oh, it simulates human blood. It can hold oxygen. It's derived from alien tech. It works really well," one of the medics answered, not looking up from what he was doing.

And sure enough, when half the bag was gone and the medics were trying trouble shoot how to get John off the wall, John stirred. He seemed disoriented at first, causing Rose to hug him tight. "Shh John, I've got you. Just be still."

Johns head rolled around a little on her. "Where am I? My leg hurts, Oh Gods it hurts so bad... Rose?" he raised his head off her shoulder to look in her eye, his expression bewildered. 

She smiled a watery smile back. "I'm here, stay still. "

He looked at her, confused for a beat, then looked down at his leg. "Oh," he said, as if he just remembered why he was there. 

"You're going to be OK now," she said. 

"I remember now, I called you."

"Yes, and I came. My turn to return the favor from you sav-" she stopped, as John lightly pushed off her, to stand on his own, on the one leg that wasn't pinned. 

Now it was her turn to be confused, though John didn't offer any more explanation. He looked down at the medics examining his leg. "I think that, if this tourniquet is doing its job, you can slide me off the spikes. They have little scales on them, that you can see, much like foxtails. They are made to travel one direction and not be removed the opposite way. So pulling them out would do more damage, but pulling me forward would be in the correct direction for them and I should slide off. I just couldn't do it myself, plus I would have bled to death," he told the medics, matter-of-factly.

Rose couldn't believe that he was able to get all of that out, but looking at him, some of his color had returned. 

Rose stepped back as one of the medics confirmed John's thoughts. But removing an impaled object was always a no-no for medics. There were too many things that could go wrong. 

They talked with John, trying to figure out how to get between him and the wall, to cut the spikes from the wall, but without hydraulic cutting tools, it may not work. They also talked about cutting a potion of the wall out and transporting it, the spikes still attached to John, but that also would take time. 

So it was decided to go with John's plan. He would be pulled off. Rose stood back ready to help put him on the stretcher they brought, and watched in agony as John was pulled from the spikes with a horrible, gut wrenching scream. Then he was silent. As they laid him on the stretcher, Rose could see that he had passed out again. This time from the pain. 

One of the medics hovered over him with another tourniquet to put on if the bleeding continued. He would put it right next to the first, but the original one held. Now that he was laying down, John was strapped to the stretcher and the medics went about checking his vital signs, dressing the leg wounds and such. 

One looked up at Rose. "He is looking pretty good. His vitals are not bad considering his situation. I imagine the IVs helped. We'll fly him to Torchwood from here. "

"He doesn't work there anymore," Rose said.

"No matter, we treat civilians the all the time. It looks like a regular hospital. Then we have the added bonus of Torchwood tech and research as well as retconning as we need." 

Rose cringed and was about to say something back when John started to stir again. Rose was at his side immediately. "John?"

His eyes fluttered open. He looked at her but didn't smile. It was more like an appraising look. 

"John, are you with us?" she asked. 

"Yeah, " he said, but his voice was rough. 

"John, they're going to fly you to Torchwood for treatment-" Rose started. 

"No."

"C'mon John, they have the best treatment there." She looked at him earnestly, but he shook his head. 

"Anywhere but there." Even as he talked his color returned. 

"John, you know it's the best place for you-" she started.

"Do I?" he asked, his voice now clear. 

"Please John, you don't have to stay, but where else would you go for treatment of alien spikes that were stuck in your leg?" Rose asked. 

"I don't need Torchwood," he said, eyes, blazing. 

"May I remind you that you called me?" she said back, her voice mimicking his calm, but her face unable to hide the fury. Their staring match was interrupted by a terrible scream erupting from the caves. She whipped around. "That sounded human, I need to go. "

John suddenly reached out, grabbing her arm, the fire in his eyes instantly out. "That thing is vicious, William has no control over it. "

Rose's face softened too. "I know, but I have to go." She pulled free, but gently. "I have to go," she repeated.

John flopped back on the stretcher, pressing his lips together. But Rose couldn't read his expression. 

Rose took one last look at him and turned to go. The volume of unsaid words between them was crushing. He was clearly still mad or hurt, likely both, and she wondered if he was able to metabolize any of her apology. Most likely not. She only hoped that she lived through this to talk to him. 

OoOoO

The medics and an additional agent were able to get John up the stairs on the stretcher with the help of other agents. Once on the first floor, he was slid onto a wheeled gurney and rolled out. As he blinked in the bright sunlight, John saw that Torchwood had taken over the entire yard of the school. John was wheeled to a big van where the agent stopped and opened the back doors, only to have Pete Tyler step out. 

John grit his teeth. 

"Dr. Smith, thank you for calling us... Well Rose. I'm not sure how you did it, but thank you. 

John wanted to make a smart remark, but didn't. Behind Pete, John could see several monitors showing what the field crews were seeing. Agents were manning the monitors, and other readings showed up. Something caught his eye. He sat up. "I know where they are!" he exclaimed. 

"They're in the caves, you should go to the hosp-" Pete started

"No!" John protested as the medics started to move the gurney away. "Stop moving me! I know those caves, I practically lived in them as a boy! I went to school here. They are in a very dangerous spot. You need to tell them that the ceiling of that cave is prone to collapse. There is a water leak from above and it makes it spongey."

Pete stared at him blankly. 

Swiftly, and before anyone could stop him, John swung his legs off the side of the gurney and tried to stand up, only to pitch forward and be caught by one fast footed medic. 

"What are you doing?" yelled the medic. 

John struggled with him. "Let me past! I know those caves! They're in danger! I can lead them through. If you don't you could lose them!" He turned to Pete, now the only barrier between him and the van. "I'm not kidding, not only do you have a carnivorous alien but mix that with intertwining caves and you could lose all of them. Are you prepared to have that happen to your own daughter?" 

Pete reddened. "Dr. Smith, I-" a loud yell came from inside the van and everyone turned. One of the agents monitoring the incident turned to them. "I think we just lost one, director. I saw a flash of something on his camera and he hit the wall."

"Who is it?" Pete asked over his shoulder.

"It's agent Jake Simmonds."

Pete winced. 

"Please-" John begged, straining on the hands that held him. 

Pete stepped back, allowing John past, but he had to be basically dragged buy the poor medics, who were also trying to maintain IV bags and such, while holding him up and not allowing him to bear weight on his injured leg. 

John was helped up into the van, much to the horror of the agents on the inside, who were staring openly at the dressings on John's leg. But John ignored them, instead sliding into a chair and reaching for headset. One of his IV lines got caught up and a he went to go rip it out, a strong hand fell on his. "Dr. Smith, let me take that out for you," the medic said, quickly pulling out the catheter and replacing it with a piece of gauze and swiftly wrapping it in cohesive tape. John nodded at the man before turning his attention back to the monitors. 

Everyone watched in silence as John looked at each monitor in turn. There was quite a bit of radio traffic happening between the team and he dared not interrupt. He only heard a few transmissions here and there from Rose. She had rejoined the group and was actively searching for the being. 

After acclimating to the situation, John got ready to give direction but there was too much talking. No one was anticipating him helping and any transmission of his would most likely be walked over. As the agents encountered the being, things were getting more and more harried too. Medics were responding, but they were trying to remove the injured agent. It was a mess. 

John had an idea. He pulled up Rose's optic link and simply typed, "Go to channel 2". Just like he had on the very first day. 

Her response was immediate. He heard a familiar voice in his ear within a second. "John? Doctor?"

Despite everything that happened, his anger and embarrassment, he couldn't help but smile. This is what felt good. He missed it. "Yes, it's me. Can you turn to the right and left go I can figure out exactly where you are?"

"Yes." She did as told. 

"Have you come in contact with the being?"

"Yes, only briefly, it ran with the boy farther back. "

"Do you know which tunnel they took?"

He could see Rose's hand pointing. 

"OK Rose, that cave leads to the south end of the campus grounds. If they make it all the way, they will be able to get out and run. Can you follow? "

"Yes, we can. I think Jake hit it with a taser before he got hit back. It's moving a little slow now."

"Ok, I recommend keeping your distance. We will be doing research here to figure out what may stop it. Stay clear of those spikes though."

"I will. Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're OK."

He didn't know what to answer so he simply said, "Thanks".

Next to John, one of the agents that had been originally in the van was scrolling through Torchwood files, desperately trying to find any mention of a similar being. John watched him, also keeping an eye on Rose's feed, occasionally giving directions. 

He all of a sudden yelled. "Stop!" at the agent and leaned forward. Something on the screen caught his eye. "That might be it. Does it talk about the characteristics of a juvenile?"

The agent scrolled a little further. "Yeah, they are light purple in color, poor tempered and can shoot their spikes short distances. The adults are more even tempered and lose the ability to shoot. There has been some success in using high pitched sounds against them. I guess their hearing is superior and the sounds that are out of our range hurt their ears. They are paralyzed temporarily."

"Like a dog whistle?" John asked.

"It seems so. It just says that they are paralyzed temporarily by the sound."

John started looking around the van.

"What do you need Dr.Smith?" Pete asked. 

"I need something to make that sound. I need to think." He tapped on his head. "AHA!" he exclaimed. He reached forward. Turning the dials on the radio, listening intently. "I've got it, I can modulate the sound of the radio tones. I can send it to go out the speakers of their headsets. Do they have hearing protection?" he asked. 

"Always," Pete said. 

"OK," he said, turning back to Rose's feed. "Rose, I need you to have everyone get ready to turn their earpieces out. When you get close we'll send out a sound that will stop the being, but you will need to be close. Then I recommend using one of your sticky nets to subdue it. But you'll have to get rather close for the sound to work. Also you will all need hearing protection. OK?"

"So we need to be close but not too close, turn out our ear pieces and wear hearing protection. "

"Basically yeah. "

"Oh boy, here we go!" she said.

OoOoO  
In the caves after she had rejoined her group, Rose was starting to panic. All the caves looked alike and they only caught glances at the alien. Then one of them was hit. Slammed, more like it. 

They had no idea how to get at this thing, or how to stop it, let alone where they were going. It was terrifying. Her last interaction with John was worrying and maddening, but she didn't have time to think about it, so she forced it back to the position of a pain in the back of her brain that she would have to deal with later. But even pushing it back did not relieve the ache in her heart. 

But then, when things were at their worst, she saw a familiar message in her heads up display. "Go to channel 2." No way. Could it be? John was barely hanging on. She nearly dropped everything in her scramble to the radio. Then she heard it , his voice. It wasn't the Doctor's voice, but John's. Normal, warm and calming. They hadn't said much to each other, but knowing he was on her side was enough to give her the confidence to move on past the dire situation before them. Someone could feed her information. They weren't blind anymore. And it felt good. All she could muster to say to him, out of the volumes of things she should say, was, "I'm glad you're OK." 

In those four words she tried to pack everything she said to him while he was dying, and everything she needed to say beyond that. She had no idea if he picked up on anything, but it would be her mission to be sure he did. Even if she had to camp out in his house. She needed to get him the message. 

But now she had to get this alien, end the threat, so she could get back to him. 

When she got her instructions, she and the remaining team, except one that stayed with Jake, started back into the caves. 

OoOoO

With John's guidance, Rose led the team thorough the caves. It was slow going, as they didn't know when they would run into the boy or the being. 

Then up ahead they saw something. There was a lump of something on the ground ahead. Rose cleared the area and approached. It wasn't a lump, it was a child. She rushed to his side, as the other agents surrounded her for cover. She reached a gloved hand out and touched his shoulder and he groaned. Rose let out a breath. He was alive. 

"That's William," John said in her ear. "He's the boy that found the being. It must have turned on him. "

William groaned again and looked up at her. He had blood running down his face from a laceration at his hairline. He looked into Rose's eyes. "Simon knocked me over! I don't know why he's being bad. I'm sorry he hurt Dr. Smith and your man. He's not listening to me anymore."

"It's OK, William, "Rose responded, "We have to go stop him." She pointed to one of the newer agents. "This man will take you out of here. Can you get up?"

"I think so." He slowly got to his feet and started to follow the agent. "Wait!" he said after a few steps. Rose stopped. "Please don't kill him, he's my friend."

"I'll do the best I can," Rose said back. 

"He's just hungry," the boy said, sadly.

"I know," Rose said smiling assuredly, indicating for the agent to take him. 

John's voice sounded in her ear."Rose, we have to move. We have agents guarding the surface where it will come up, but if it emerges, we have different issues. It would be better if we stopped it in the caves."

"Agreed."

The team only went a little farther when they heard noises coming from around a bend in the cave. 

Rose carefully extended an fiberoptic camera around the corner to get a look, and sure enough, something was there. It was a being, it's long arms waving around scraping along the walls of the cave. The way it was moving it looked like trying to find its way. 

John was in her ear again. "That's it. It looks like it's trying to find the right cave to get out. It missed the exit, it was at the end of another route. But it's trapped now, so this is the time to get it. You all need to turn out your ear pieces now, turn up the volume on all of them, and put in your ear protection, we'll give this a whirl."

"Ok," Rose responded quietly. Here goes nothing. Wish me luck."

"You don't need luck, " he responded, "you've got this."

Rose felt warmth swell in her chest. She and the others turned out their earpieces, making sure their protection was in place, then they all turned the corner at once. 

Rose didn't hear anything change, but she could see it. The beast opened its mouth, seemingly to let out a wail and shrunk back. They watched as it took a defensive posture, swinging its arms out. One agent was grazed by a spike but kept at it .

Just like John said, the being, as they advanced, was confused and moving slower. But it was still fighting. 

"You have to get closer!" John urged, typing on her display, "It's working."

The beast was struggling, its movements erratic., its arms were flailing. Rose was dodging, getting as close as possible. Its movements were slowing as the sound was overwhelming it. Rose was first, the others just behind her. 

In the van, John was watching the goings on with rapt attention. All the pain in his leg had floated away as he watched the agents struggle to overcome the beast. 

"Rose, it's slowing, try to get the net on it," he typed. 

Rose turned to Mickey. "Get the net!" she yelled, then realized he couldn't hear her. She reached out, grabbing his arm. He turned to her and she indicated that he needed to shoot out the net. 

He nodded and Rose turned back to the beast. As she did she screamed. The beast's arm was right there, flinging around, catching her in what looked like the abdomen. 

John watched in horror on the screen. He could see her flying off in various feeds, but all were focused on the beast and they could not see where she landed. Her feed was just static. 

"Rose!" John yelled. Everyone in the van leaned closer to the monitors. Mickey shot the net, a direct hit, and the sticky net quickly entangled the beast , getting worse the more it struggled. Then the net did its job. It slowly contracted, tightening itself around the beast . Everyone watching in the van could see the agents getting closer. The more they did, the more the sounds subdued the alien. 

No one was talking, they all ear protection on and radio traffic was useless to them. But as the beast was subdued, John typed to Mickey that he would turn off the sound and they could communicate again. As soon as he did that, he asked over the radio to everyone. "What happened to Rose?"

Several heads turned to her, but before anyone else could answer, she did. "I'm OK. Just bruised. 

John let out an audible breath, as did Pete next to him. Rose re-initiated her feed and John could see her checking herself over. Her hands had blood on them but not a lot. "Are you OK Rose?" John asked.

"Yeah, nothing's broken."

"I'm glad."

Pete was giving directions behind him. "Let's get the extraction team out there. Dr. Smith, is there a faster way in than our agents took to find it?"

"Yes, John showed them on a GPS map on one of the screens were the entrance was. "Your teams can also come out there. It may be easier than going back through. "

Pete agreed. 

John felt a hand on his shoulder. It was one of the medics. "Dr.Smith. I think you need to come with us. "

John looked down at his leg. It wasn't bleeding openly, but was still a mess. The blood was oozing out through the dressings wrapped around his leg. Reluctantly he agreed. Then suddenly, as the adrenaline drained after the incident, he felt very, very tired. He had to be helped out of the van then then carefully arraigned on the gurney then rolled to a helicopter. John didn't even protest. He was glad he helped, but it took everything he had. He had nothing left to give. He rested his head back and sighed. Once the helicopter lifted, he promptly fell asleep. 

When Rose came out of the caves minutes later, she made a beeline for the vans, hoping he was still there. Her progress was hindered by soreness from contacting the wall of the cave and by the big helicopter that was lifting. When she got to the van, she met with her father, but John was gone.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I got hit with a case of the "Crazies". Sometimes there is just not enough time in the day, or week. You may note that I added a chapter. It was because I have an epiphany and changed, well added to, the ending. But that made the last chapter super long. So I just broke it up in order to get you elements in a more timely manner. Enjoy!

John stirred. The aching in his leg woke him. But something was different. He wasn't in the helicopter anymore. That was the last place he remembered being. Around him he heard hushed voices but nothing specific. Slowly he opened his eyes, a harder task than he thought it would be, to see the white of a hospital room. He was wearing a green hospital gown and covered with a sheet and blanket. Carefully he removed them to look at his leg. He now wore a padded dressing on it, but it was clean, no blood to be seen. It still hurt though, not like before, but ached a lot. 

After that he turned his head to the left to see a door to the what looked like an hallway and nurses station. He thought idly about maybe calling out, but not yet. Then he heard a noise to his right, like a sigh. He turned to it, only to see a familiar figure, that of Rose Tyler, asleep in the chair next to him. She looked a little paler than usual, and had a few steri-strips at her hairline over a laceration of some sort. 

"Rose," he said, his voice gravely from sleep. She shifted in the chair, but didn't wake. He scooted over in the bed carefully, feeing his leg twinge uncomfortably. He waited for it to pass before trying again. He reached through the bedrail to tap on her leg, the closest thing to him. "Rose," he tried again. 

This time she stirred, and her eyes opened. It took her a second to focus, and when she did, her eyes widened. She shot forward, causing him to sit back. "John! Are you OK? I can't believe I fell asleep. "

He smiled. "You went through a lot. You were tired."

She looked quizzically at him. "You didn't answer me, are you OK?"

"I suppose so," he hedged, "but I'm more concerned if you are hurt. "

She looked at him incredulously. "John you could have died. You had to be in terrible pain. Why did you help us?"

He looked away then back to her. "I couldn't leave you like that. I knew the caves. I couldn't walk away, or erm, roll away, from that."

"And my dad let you?"

John smiled lightly. "I played the daughter card. He couldn't handle something happening to you. So he let me help. "

Rose smiled too, leaning forward, her hands coming to rest on the side rail of the hospital bed. "You did this while you were injured. I can't believe you."

"The way I see it, I had no choice. "

Rose just stared at him. The weight of her stare made John look away. 

"John?"

"Hmm?" he didn't turn back. 

"In the basement, when you were, um, attached to the wall, before the medics got there. Do you remember anything?"

John glanced back to her then at his lap. "Um, I don't know. I don't think so."

Rose sat up and lowered the bed rail then stood slowly, then sat on the edge of the bed so she was facing him. He looked away immediately, but she reached out and took his chin, guiding it back until they were looking at each other. 

"John, I'm sorry."

He gave her a confused look. Then she did something he never would have guessed. She took his hand in hers. "John, when you were in the car after the party, I... Um-"

"Rose-," came a voice behind her. Both of their eyes flicked up to see Pete Tyler standing there. 

"Dad, why are you here?"

Pete stepped into the room. "I need to talk to Dr.Smith please."

Rose's face fell. John sat up in bed with a wince. Rose looked back to him and he nodded curtly then looked to Pete. "Director Tyler."

Rose got up and gathered her things, taking one last look at John as she walked out. John watched her as she went, noticing just how stricken she looked. Suddenly his discomfort at Pete's arrival intensified, now punctuated with the click of the door closing. 

Pete stood at the foot of the bed, his face stony, and John could not get a good read on it. 

"I think, " Pete started,"that you and I need to have a discussion on a few things. "

"This is going to be bad, isn't it?" John asked. 

"It depends on how you interpret it, " said Pete.

OoOoOo

A half hour later the door opened again. Pete emerged, waved at his daughter and walked over to her. 

"What happened?"she asked him.

"It's up to him to tell you," Pete said with a smile, leaving his daughter wondering. 

Rose swiftly went into John's room, only to see John smiling back. 

"What's all this then?" she asked, arms crossed. 

"It seems I have a decision to make," he said back, "but first, why don't you tell me that you were starting to."

"Will it change anything?"

"It may, try me." He patted the bed where she had been before. 

Rose tentatively stepped forward, resting on the bed. "Um, well. I don't know where to start really."

"I can't help with that, just start from the beginning I guess. "

She took a deep breath, this time not reaching for his hand, rather holding her hands in her lap. "I need to apologize."

He raised his eyebrows.

"John I was horrible. In the car. I- I screwed up. The worst part was that I didn't remember screwing up. " She shook her head. "Dammit, I'm messing this up too."

She looked around the room, then back to John, his chocolate brown eyes instantly calming her. 

She took a steeling breath. "OK, first off, that was not me. I don't do stuff like that. It was stupid. I was so nervous that I drank more than usual and didn't eat. I know that's not an excuse. But it set me up for the worst possible situation."

She fidgeted again. "OK, I had to ask Emma about it. She filled me in. John, I didn't know how awful it was. But there are a few blanks. It would help me a lot of you could help fill them in. "

"Like?" he asked calmly. 

"Emma gave me some of the info, but I'd like to hear what you heard so I can address it."

John shifted again. Then his eyes flicked to the door of the room and widened. 

Rose turned too. Now a man in a lab coat stood there. He smiled kindly at them both. "Hi, I'm Dr.Stevenson. I've come to talk to Dr. Smith if I can."

"You can call me John," John said. 

Rose deflated, heading for the door again. "Rose, wait," John called after her. "You can stay."

"Are you sure?"

"Please."

The doctor looked at both of them questioningly then continued. "OK, first I need to examine the injury. "

"Did you use the tissue regenerator on it?" John asked eagerly. 

"Yes, and no, The spikes tore through the tissue to the point that we had to do a lot of repair, but then after that was done, we were able to use it. "

John pulled back his sheets and the doctor took off the dressing, carefully. "Why is there a dressing on it?" John asked. 

The doctor chuckled. "Mainly so you didn't poke it."

Chuckled at his joke and carefully pulled away the last of the padding. John looked on carefully as Rose peered over the side of the bed. His leg looked deeply scarred where the spikes had been, but there was also a long surgical scar between the two punctures. There were no sutures or staples, just pink, newly healed skin. Both John and Rose looked up to the doctor hopefully. 

Taking his cue, the doctor pointed to the wounds. "OK, so, I had to go in and fix a few blood vessels, since the tissue regenerator only seems to fix what's already there. Apparently it won't fix the tubes or things that are obliterated. But it did a bang-up job on the rest."

"Wow, I'm glad you used it. It also makes sense that it won't work if it has no material to go on," John said. 

"I'm glad I could use it too. Dr. Conrad came in to assist too. He has a much better knowledge of it than me. Anyway, we went in and cleaned everything up patched up what we needed to, the used the tissue regenerator were we could. Preliminary ultrasounds show that the blood flow is good through the repaired vessels too. It's such new technology that we are still seeing how it does on everything."

"I'm just glad we had it," John said, eyes still on the wound, with his fingers tracing the pink lines. 

"Me too, " remarked the doctor, "would you like to try to stand on it? We need to be careful if you do. It might be painful yet."

"Sure, I'd love to try," John said, adjusting himself in bed, as he did, his gown came up, showing quite a lot of thigh, and it only looked like it would creep farther with anymore movement. "Wait, I don't have pants on. Can I get... something... before I do?" He looked at Rose, embarrassment tinging his cheeks. 

"Yes, of course." Dr. Stevenson motioned out the door for a nurse, and Rose stepped out while John got changed. Rose had noticed just how much leg she saw even when the covers were first pulled away. She had only seen John fully dressed. She was able to focus though, because of the doctor's explanation. But when John shifted he was about to have no secrets. He didn't see it, but she turned away quickly and was happy to step out, mostly because her cheeks were bright pink. 

When she was summoned to come back in, John was sitting on the edge of the bed, black Torchwood sweat pants now covering his legs. He looked up to her for a second with a slight grin, then the nurse helped him slide to a little further off.

The nurse helped him to standing but John yelled, "Arg! Put me down!" and was instantly sat back on the bed, his hand rubbing his leg, trying to catch his breath. " I'm sorry, but that was horrible." 

Dr. Stevenson sighed. "I was worried about that. The regenerator needs some work. It repairs the more surface tissues really well, but doesn't seem to work on thicker areas like thighs as completely. It's great for superficial stuff and burns. It seems to have difficulty in cases like yours, well you already know about the blood vessels. I just hoped it would do better on the deep tissue. But I imagine that in a weeks time you'll be right as rain. We need you to get back for an ultrasound or two, as well as physio to get you back on your feet. I can discharge you now though, but we'll have you back tomorrow." 

John looked up, he was still catching his breath, with a light sheen of sweat now on his forehead. "Um, I don't live here."

The doctor frowned. "Well then you'll have to stay in case anything goes wrong. This isn't something I can send you to your local clinic for. First off, it really can't be explained, and second, they wouldn't know how to treat it if something went wrong." 

John deflated.

"He can stay with me at mine!" Rose blurted out. 

John turned to her, his expression confused and surprised. "Um Rose, thank you but I'm not sure that I could be at the Tyler mansion. I'll just get a hotel. "

Before he could say something else, Rose said,"I moved out two weeks ago. I have a flat. It's nice, not much but spacious. I'm on call right now, but am off for the next few days. I can bring you in."

John's expression was unreadable, but Rose thought perhaps that he was just mulling it all over. Then he smiled. "Sure that'll work."

Rose brightened. "Great!" Even as she said that, her heart started to pound in her chest, so loud that she was sure everyone around could hear it. She and John were a long ways from this, they hadn't even had a chance to talk. But he had no place to go, and she sure wasn't going to let him stay at a hotel. But a least now they would have the opportunity to set things straight. 

The next few minutes were a flurry of activity. Nurses came in and fitted him for crutches, helped him dress, and gather this things. There wasn't much, as he was taken from the school, but he had a small bag with his suit rumpled up in it, shoes, phone and wallet. Rose had stepped out for all he prep and discharge, but stepped back in to find him sitting at the end of the bed again, smiling at her, now in a full Torchwood sweat suit. Any anxiety she had with her decision to take him home melted away in an instant. He looked as if he had something to say. 

"What?" she asked.

"Oh nothing, ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

One of the techs helped John transfer to a wheelchair then pushed him down to the lifts then to the bottom floor of Torchwood, where he was greeted by an enthusiastic Emma. John talked to her as Rose went to fetch the car. When she came back, she found John and Emma laughing and felt a little pang of jealousy. So far she hadn't had the the opportunity to be like that with him. Truthfully they barely knew each other, but that was about to change if she had anything to do about it. 

Once John was settled, it took a painful minute for him to get into her car, Rose climbed into the driver's seat. 

"Well then, ready to go?"

"Yes," he answered. "Rose?"

"Yeah?" She pulled the car out of the spot and towards the exit of the parking structure. 

"Did you have something to say before we were interrupted... Twice?"

Rose gripped the wheel a little harder. Both of the times she has tried before she had been ready, but now the anxiety was almost overwhelming. It only was made worse when she saw him in such an easy conversation with Emma. Her thinking must had been noticed. 

John started again,"You don't have to tell me anything, I just thought-"

"No, I want to talk. Just give me a second. I don't even know where I was."

John's voice took a deeper tone. "You were talking about our last car ride."

Despite John's warm voice, Rose got chills. Oh yeah, the car ride, when it all went to hell. 

Well here it goes, "John, that night, I've already told you it wasn't like me. I set myself up for failure and I-" she stopped abruptly as her phone rang, the sound carried by the speakers inside the car. 

"Dammit!"

"Aren't you going to answer that?"

She looked at him.

"It could be important, aren't you on call?"

Rose angrily pushed the "answer" button on the screen on the dashboard. "Tyler," she called out. 

"Tyler, we need you to come in. There's a callout."

"OK, I'm on my way home, nearly there, I have a- package to drop off."

"That's fine, it's a surveillance mission and you need to relieve Mickey."

John sat quietly as Jake took a few minutes to explain what was happening and a few other follow-up things. Rose didn't indicate that he was in the car with her so John was careful to be quiet. It wasn't easy, any bump in the road made him want to groan. But he did hear that William was OK, and was currently being evaluated at a mental hospital that specialized in children. The alien had been taken to Torchwood and was in custody now as members of its home planet were being contacted to see if it was displaced. 

Before he knew it, Rose was pulling up to a large building. It was about fifteen floors high, gleaming in glass and metal. It was her building of flats. He thought to himself,"It's not much?" It was very nice. 

Rose ended her call as she pulled into a parking spot in the adjoining car park. "I'm sorry about that. Jake didn't know you were there. It would have... Ah .. Raised questions. I didn't want to have him take so long. But he likes to hear his own voice."

"I've been accused of that too,"John countered. "Wait, wasn't Jake injured?"

"Turns out he was fine, a minor concussion, but he's already back to work. I think he's just a baby."

John snorted and started to arrange himself to get out. 

Rose led John slowly to a bank of lifts and up to her flat. He was slow on the crutches at first but she kept pace with him, finally making it and hitting the button to summon the lift, then sighed, catching his eyes. "I'm so sorry John. I need to talk to you. Maybe I should call Jake back."

"Rose, we have time. I'm not going anywhere. And if I was to you'd surely catch up," he smiled sweetly. "Go, I'll be fine. I just want to rest. "

Rose reluctantly agreed, but only left after bringing him into her flat, getting him settled on the couch, insisting on ordering him food to be delivered and showing him briefly where things were. All in all she was only there for about ten minutes before rushing out the door. 

When she slammed the door to her car and turned it on, she was nearly in tears. He was right there, right in front of her and she couldn't tell him. Oh sure she could have blurted it out, but where would that leave them? They needed time to talk, to hash out what happened. It was killing her. But yet he looked at her so sweetly, like he had something to say too. But she was also terrified that she would come back to an empty flat and she would never get to say the words she had been trying literally for days to get him to hear.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there! How about a little ripple?

The mission had also not gone well. It was supposed to be surveillance, but turned into much more. Mickey was just briefing her when it all went to heck. Next thing she knew, she was running, chasing a teeny little alien through a wooded area, across a creek and smack dab into a giant deep mud puddle. She and Mickey were able to subdue it and transport it back to Torchwood, but the whole operation took hours. Their first opportunity to look at a clock, it was 11:00. Her heart sank. Without even stopping to shower, she left Torchwood, hoping she would find John still there. 

She keyed her way in on a nearly dark flat. The only light was coming from the living room and Rose followed it. 

What greeted her was the most welcome sight she had ever laid eyes on. Bathed in warm light from a lamp, John Smith sat on her couch, his leg up on an ottoman in front of him, glasses perched on his nose, book opened in front of him, and an afghan across his body. He looked up at her with a warm smile. 

Rose almost died on the spot both from relief and from the fact that this man was simply gorgeous. 

"Hello," he said, looking her over, his expression slightly amused, "rough night?"

"Yeah, you didn't leave?" she said, her breath somehow rushing out of her. 

"Why would I?" 

"I just thought-" She stopped, then rushed forward to sit next to him. "I have been interrupted so many times, just let me say this."

"OK." He closed his book. 

"John, I was stupid, I like you. In the car I was not acting like me. I was so nervous. I told you that I should have eaten, but then... Well bad things happened. It all went so bad so fast and I had no idea. The 'oath' I said was intended to be a joke, a very unfunny one, but one nonetheless. I never intended on hurting your feelings. I take full responsibility for my actions and if you never want to talk to me again, I get that. Then I found out you were the Doctor and I didn't know what to think. Not only had I fallen for you, but then when I found out you'd been helping me, I... it just all fit. When my dad fired you, heck, exiled you, I nearly lost it. That's when I moved out. We haven't really talked since. I was even seriously considering quitting Torchwood."

She stopped, her verbal diarrhea only causing John's eyebrow to raise. 

She took a deep breath. "I know that's a lot I just unloaded. But what it all comes down to is... I need to apologize to you."

John nodded slowly, but his eyes were locked on hers. She noticed that his eyes looked a little glazed over and wondered if that was because he was deep in thought. Chills ran down Rose's back. She had no way to interpret his reaction. 

"John? Say something," she begged. 

John visibly swallowed and Rose froze. Here it came.

But instead of his voice telling her she was on the wrong track, it was his lips that were suddenly on hers that shocked her. 

It was chaste at first, just lips, no other touching, but he leaned over quickly and it took her a second to react. But within that second she kissed back. When she did, his hands came up to her shoulders, moving her closer until they were locked in an embrace, her hands around his neck and his holding her back. He was hot to the touch, but after the chill of the outdoors it felt good. Rose didn't even think about it. 

For the impressive snog it was it was stealth at the beginning, Rose not sure how she got there. But tongues quickly mingled after that, two sets of arms held so tightly as if to never let go. When they finally broke apart, both breathing heavily, John smirked. "I couldn't think of an adequate answer for you, so I hoped a snog would suffice." He flopped back on the couch, still catching his breath. He looked a little pale. 

"That was nice. And it did suffice. " She smiled brightly, only to be responded to with a weak smile. 

"John, what's the matter?"she asked. 

John shivered, dark circles now clear under his eyes. "I think something is wrong." He pulled down the afghan and started to shiver more. Her eyes fell on his injured leg, now swollen and straining against the fabric of his sweatpants. She hadn't seen it before, since he had himself covered with the afghan. 

"Why didn't you call me?" she asked. "John this is bad. Omigods you were so hot when we kissed, I didn't even..."

John was looking more pale by the moment, like the recent exertion had drained him. He pulled the cover back over him and up to his chin, his glasses sliding back down his nose. Slowly he slid into a slump. "I think I need help," he nearly whispered. 

Rose fumbled for her phone. Yes, Torchwood had its own ambulance and medics, but also they only worked during operations. There was no way to summon them, but John couldn't go to a normal hospital. Not with all that happened. They wouldn't know how to treat him. 

She did the only thing she could think of. She dialed her phone. "Dad?" she said when he picked up, "I need help."

OoOoOo

John lost consciousness minutes afterward. Rose tried desperately to keep him awake, but he couldn't. By the time the medics got there about fifteen minutes later, John was as white as a sheet. 

OoOoOo

"John... Joooohhhhnnn," a voice called. "Hello John, are you in there? It's time to wake up," the voice came through the gloom in John's head. He shifted in bed. "John, can you open your eyes?" In the distance, somewhere came a beautiful voice. One that he knew. 

Through the haze, John's head felt heavy. His eyelids felt like they had 25 kg weights on them. He struggled to open them. When they were open a slit, all he could see was fuzzy low light. He blinked. 

"There you are, I thought you were waking up," crooned the voice again. It as the most wonderful sound in the known universe. 

John couldn't see yet, but a fuzzy blob, correction, a pink and yellow fuzzy blob was leaning over him. He blinked again. It was getting easier per blink. Slowly the haze faded and he saw her. Right next to him, staring at him with a watery smile, Rose Tyler. 

"Hi," she said, "Are you with me?" 

John tried to speak, he wanted to yell. She was here! He just wanted to talk to her, but all that came out was a dry croak. 

Rose sat back and he could hear her moving about, but didn't have the energy to turn his head. A cup appeared with a straw aimed at his lips. He sipped the cold water, carefully at first. His throat was sore, but then he started to drink quickly, only to have the cup removed. 

"Careful there," she said, "you need to go slow. Now, is that better?"

"Yes," he croaked out, "thank you."

Rose came back to is side, smiling wide. "I'm so glad you're back. I was so worried."

"Where was I?" he asked curiously. He shook his head. "Where am I?"

"Do you remember anything?"

He shook his head again.

Rose deflated a little, but tried to not show it. "Um, you had a massive infection. You were at my flat. We... I came back from an op and you were feverish. It was bad so I called my dad and he got the medics to bring you here. John, it was really bad. You've been out for a while. "

"How long?"

"Three days. It was scary. They were breathing for you. I mean breathing tube and everything. They had a hard time figuring out the infection."

John looked her over. She sat close to the bed, her eyes were red like she hadn't slept. On her right hand she had a white bandage, and when his eyes fell on it, she pulled it out of sight. 

"What really happened?" he asked, voice stronger. "What happened to you?"

Rose exhaled. "I suppose you'll find out. They couldn't figure out which antibiotic would kill the infection. "

"So..."

"So I had to go in and get a blood sample from the being. We had to tranquilize it, but one of its spikes got me. "

"Are you ok?" he asked, struggling to sit up. Finally his hand landed on the button on the bed and it sat him up just a little, but he could see her better. 

She laughed. "You almost died from an alien infection and you ask if I'm OK?"

He nodded. "Yes, please, are you OK?"

"I'm fine John, I'm on the same antibiotics you are just in case. But how do you feel?"

He was quiet for a minute. "I feel really weak, tired, but happy. "

"Happy?" her thumb migrated to her mouth, and she distractedly chewed on her nail. 

He nodded slowly, his eyes dropping a bit. "I got to snog Rose Tyler before I almost died. What could be better than that?" He smiled weakly. 

Rose leaned in. "So you remember?"

"Oh, yes," he said, his voice only above a whisper. He gave a long blink, and the last thing he felt before sleep took him again was the soft sensation of Rose's lips on his once again.   
OoOooo

John woke several more times that day, each for a longer period. With each he was awarded with smiles from Rose, or another kiss, which gave him motivation to stay awake despite the exhaustion. He still slept about 20 hours that first day after he woke. Rose stayed by his side all night, but in the morning she had to go back to work. Her days off were over and she had to go back. 

After her shift Rose raced back to the hospital wing only to find John awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, clearly struggling, then, with assistance, plopping back down onto the bed. He helped arrange himself for a moment, when weary eyes fell on Rose. 

He immediately brightened, even though he was out of breath. "Hi!" he said. Though his greeting was cheerful, his exhaustion shone through. 

"What were you up to?" she asked, coming to his bedside for a peck on the lips. 

"I was trying to get up. They won't let me go until I can stand and walk to the loo by myself. I just can't find the energy though."

Rose put her hand on John's. "You will."

Two days later he did. Not only that, he walked (gingerly) to the nurse's station before turning back. Of course he slept for an hour after that too. This time Rose was there to cheer him on. 

John woke to hushed voices in his room. He opened his eyes to see Pete whispering to his daughter. John's eyes widened and he pushed himself up, only to have Rose's hand land on his shoulder. "Careful there," she said. 

He looked at Pete. "Director Tyler, good to see you again."

Pete smiled. "Well Dr.Smith, Rose was just filling me in on your progress. It sounds like you'll get to leave soon."

"Yeah..." John started. 

Both Pete and John looked at Rose. 

"What?" she asked. 

"Have you told her?" Pete asked. 

"We hadn't come to a decision," John answered.

"Ok, now you're scaring me," Rose said, looking between them. 

"You go first," John said, pointing to Pete. 

"I'll humor you because you're sick," Pete said, now facing his daughter. "Rose, it seems that we need to find a place for Dr.Smith, John, to go. He can't go back to the school."

"Wait, I mean he can come to mine, like before, but why?"

John wore a sly smile. "Because I don't work there anymore."

Rose's eyes widened. "Wha?"

Pete cut in,"I have hired John to spearhead a new division of Torchwood. He will be creating a dispatch center, modifying the tech and hiring personnel to help be the 'eye in the sky" for missions."

"Really?" Rose asked, jumping to her feet and to John's bedside. "Why the change of heart?"

Pete smiled. "Well, I saw the merit in someone feeding intel to our agents. I went back and reviewed all the missions he helped you on. It became really clear really fast just how blind you all were going in and how important access to data bases and intel was. Agents will still have autonomy, but they will also have real time help, tracking and faster backup."

"How's Jake with all this? Rose asked. 

"He'll recover," Pete said flatly. 

Rose put down the bed rail and sat next to John. "Does this mean I'll have you in my ear again?"

"Yes, well briefly. I mean if we are together I mean, as a couple it isn't the best idea-" John stopped, rubbing the back of his head. 

"I get it," Rose said with a laugh.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are! Sorry for the late post. A stomach bug came along and zapped me hard. This chapter has a wee bit of smut at the beginning. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this! I have a few more in the hopper, let;s see what shakes out, shall we?

John walked himself into Rose's flat with much more ease the second time. The walk from the car was taxing, but he was stronger now, and the pain had mostly left. He had been released in the late evening , the process taking longer than he thought. He made his way in, her right behind him. He stopped though, as she went ahead to turn on the lights. 

"Do you need a shower before bed?" she asked, distracted, moving one of his bags that had been dropped off by agents that had cleaned out his house at the school. 

John didn't move. 

"What?" she asked. 

"I'm sorry, I think I'm just tired."

"Of course you are silly, why don't you go lay in the bed and I'll bring you some tea. "

He raised an eyebrow at her. Then it dawned on her. Though they had been kissing since the day of the infection, it hadn't gone any further than that. "Oh, yeah, I only have one bed and the couch is not fit for sleeping. But we're both adults. I mean we... We're together right? I mean we can be in the same bed, right?"

He gave her a watery smile. "Yeah." He ambled into the bedroom. "Uh Rose? Which side do you prefer?"

"I like to be near the loo!" she called back from the kitchen. 

John made his way to the other side slowly sinking onto the bed, then with a sigh he rotated, coming to rest on the soft mattress. He rested against the pillows and all his trepidation drained out of him. The bed was large, with a firm yet soft mattress and it smelled of her. She had clearly washed the sheets, but it still had a distinct smell. John took another deep breath, closing his eyes. 

John vaguely remembered being adjusted and put under a duvet at some time, but it was something entirely different that woke him. 

His eyes fluttered open in the pale morning light from a window next to the bed. He felt warm, and very comfortable, but there was something else. He was on his side, his hand draped over something, no someone. Unconsciously, in his sleep he had pulled Rose close. Then now were spooned together, loosely though. He moved his hand lightly up her side, making her sigh in her sleep. He stalled, not wanting to wake her, but just wanting to bask in the warmth of her. 

His mind traveled back to when he had first met her, how he had felt when they had been able to talk. The pride he had when he had fixed Dinotruck, and the look on her face watching her brother play with it. Then he thought back to how it felt as the Doctor, knowing he was helping her and keeping her safe. It all felt so good. Then there the bad thoughts, making their way in. How her team shielded him from her and treated him poorly, even reacting to the possibility that she had been with him after the gala. But here she was now, her feelings for him now out in the open. She had been there for his whole hospital stay, with only a few absences. She never said anything about it, but he figured that she had been taking time from work just to be with him, and he greatly appreciated it. Having her there to cheer him on, hold his hand while he slept and make a terrible situation better, it spoke volumes. 

Rose was committed to him, even without saying it out loud. Through all that had happened, Rose had been trying. Even when he had been handcuffed to the chair. She had recovered from her shock over who he was and wanted to talk to him even then. And they never really had. Even in the hospital there was always someone coming in and out, food being delivered, vital signs being taken, blood tests, imaging, and of course, lots and lots of sleeping. 

But now he held her, smelling her hair as he unconsciously pulled her closer to him. Rose sighed lightly and seemed to push back into him. It was then that he realized that he was just where he wanted to be. Right there, with Rose Tyler, or wherever she was, if she'd have him. 

Having Rose so close to him had some consequences that John wasn't comfortable with. Well, it felt good, but they hadn't gone anywhere beyond a few kisses. Now laying there thinking about her, about them, he was beginning to feel stiffness in his loins. 

Carefully he scooted back a little in that area. He didn't want to complicate things, not yet. 

Rose stirred, but didn't turn to him. She yawned, took another breath spoke, her voice thick with sleep. "No, you don't have to move. I like it."

John paused. "Um, you like what?" he asked carefully. 

"You," she answered simply, pushing her bum back to him. 

He groaned, again unintentionally. She chucked, then with one fluid motion, flipped to face him, her arms now grasping him and pulling him to her. "I wasn't sure how sharing a bed with you would be, but I must say, I like the outcome, " she said. 

"Me too," he said, leaning in to kiss her. 

This time she pulled away. "Ew, John, no, I have morning breath."

John didn't stop. His lips were on hers. Their lips weren't the only things that were engaged. Hands roamed on backs, and legs tangled, and best of all, Rose brought her hips forward, pressing into his. 

John let out a low growl, only causing her to buck up closer. 

"Rose," he gasped, "does this mean-" he started.

"It means I'm up for anything you are," she finished. 

"I barely made it into your flat yesterday, but I'm up for a challenge," he answered with a smile, then took her lips again. 

"I hope you know, I've been thinking about this a lot. I was hoping you felt that way too. And just now, when you were behind me, I knew."

"You knew what?" he asked with a smirk. 

By way of answer, Rose's hand made its way between them and palmed him through his sweat pants. He groaned, pressing into her. 

Quickly as she could, Rose pulled back the duvet and sat up, to the confused looks of John. "Well if you tire easily, I'll need to work quickly," she explained, reaching for the cuffs of his sweatpants and tugging them off in one go. He eyed her as the tossed the sweatpants away and went for his pants. 

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes", she said, palming him again for a second before pulling off his pants, allowing him to spring free. He hissed at the air hitting him. 

Just as quickly as she had undressed him, well the bottom half of him, Rose whipped off her sleeping shirt and knickers. John's eyes widened appreciatively. 

Now Rose walked on her knees up beside him. "I'm erm, clean by the way, we have to get tested for everything every six months. My test was two weeks ago. I also have an IUD."

"Wow you get right to the point," he said with a smile. 

"Our time is limited," she answered frankly. 

"Well in that case, I'm good too. I got tested after my last partner, and, well haven't had anyone in a while."

"Well then, it looks like we are ready for takeoff," she said. Before he could answer she bent over and took him in her mouth, giving him a long suck.

John yelped, thrusting up, trying but failing to not push to hard. Rose barely reacted, taking him as far as she could and he groaned loudly as he hit the back of her throat. "Oh Gods, Rose," he said, but then yet out a strangled cry as she took his bollocks in her hand. "Rose," he panted, "I don't know how long I can last if... You..."

Rose popped off with a smile. "I know, but I just wanted you ready. I know that we will have more time later, but I figured that your endurance was low. I just want you to enjoy it."

"I want you to enjoy it too. And you can slow a bit, I'm doing alright." With that he brought up a hand and slid it between her legs. "Oh, but maybe you are all ready for me and want to move things ahead." He wiggled his fingers into her folds, moving until he found her clit, giving it a press. 

This time Rose groaned, pressing down on his hand. "Yeah, I'm ready," she said, now stroking him. 

She came up to his side, perpendicular to him, taking him in her mouth again and he pressed his head back into the pillow. With his hand that wasn't busy pleasuring her, he held her head lightly. Oh, he was ready. He was careful not to push up to hard, but it was getting more difficult with every suck and twirl. 

He pressed two fingers into her, only to be rewarded with a firm press of her lips on him. He almost lost is concentration. But he pushed into her a little harder and she wiggled her hips around him. 

"Are you ready to go?" he gasped out. 

"Yes," she said around his cock. She then did a long suck that nearly sent him over the edge, and pulled off with a smile. 

"Minx," he said, pulling his hand from her. 

Rose moved up him, now straddling him, but now positioned herself over him. He almost lost it again when she rubbed him on her wet folds. 

"Rose, please, I can't wait much longer," he ground out. 

"Your wish is my command," she said, sitting down on him, all in one motion. 

John cried out again. This would not take long. 

Rose set up a fast pace bobbing up and down, sliding almost all the way out and then back down. 

But it only took a few of those and John's thrusts became erratic. His hand had found its way between them again and he was rubbing her too. Then his other hand came and pulled her down closer so he could take her breast in his mouth. That sent Rose barreling towards completion, but he was right along with her. 

They both crashed over the edge seconds apart, John bucking up with a shout, Rose pressing down with one of her own. 

She landed on top of him, both of them heaving. 

Rose rested on him for a few seconds, then rolled off, him sliding out. She snuggled up to him, resting her head on his now slightly sweaty chest. 

"John, that was fantastic.," she said, catching her own breath. 

"Yes, it was, " he whispered, " and also the fastest I've ever... Finished. But... you need to know... that I plan on a repeat ...performance just as soon as I..." he tapered off.

"As soon as you what?" she asked, but his next breath told her what he was saying. John had drifted off to sleep. 

OoOoOo

John woke later to the sun streaming in the window. He could tell by its position that it must have been a few hours later. He stirred in bed, reaching over, only to find that Rose wasn't there. He sighed. It wasn't like it was a surprise. Right now she was healthy. 

John rotated in bed, swinging his legs off and standing. He shuffled out of the bedroom, following the sounds in the kitchen. There he found Rose, face in a book, a steaming mug of tea before her, sitting with her back to him at the table. Quietly he snuck up behind her, gathering her up in his arms and laying soft kisses on her neck. 

"Mmmm," she hummed, "you're awake."

"I thought a Torchwood agent would have better situational awareness that that. I thought you would hear me a mile away."

"Oh, I heard your feet hit the floor in the bedroom. I knew you'd be here soon'" she said, turning her head to kiss his cheek. She then stood to face him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. "Would you like something to eat?" she asked.

"Can I have something else?" he asked with a smile. 

"Again? " she asked. "I'm afraid if we go again you'll sleep for the rest of the day."

"You may not be wrong, in that case, yeah, I'd love something to eat that is not hospital food."

"I don't have a lot in, I'll go shopping tomorrow. Fry up?" she asked. 

"Sounds great."  
OoOoO

Rose ran down the poorly lit corridor. "Doctor! I can't see where it went!"

"Switch to infrared mode," the Doctor said into her ear.

Rose quickly switched, instantly seeing a warm spot in the wall. "Ah, I see it now, how did it get in there?"

"I've been looking at the ventilation system. I think it crawled into a vent at the beginning of the corridor. These things can squash their bodies down to 1/4 of their usual size to fit in places."

"And to say that they are afraid of loud noises?"

"Yes," he said back in her ear. 

"OK, so let's set up agents at the vents on either side of where it is and start banging on the wall. It's a little Neanderthal of a technique, but it may work."

"I'll send out the message," the Doctor said. 

Minutes later agents were set up at both vents with sticky nets. Rose, Mickey and a few more agents beat on the walls over the ventilation ducts and sure enough, the being was caught within seconds.

"We got it!" Rose called into the radio.

"Nice work!" the Doctor said back, "I'll see you back at headquarters."

John slid his headset off his ears, watching on the monitors for a minute as the crew secured the being into a box with a tightly woven mesh top. 

"Nice call on the infrared, I wasn't sure that was online yet," came Emma's voice over his shoulder. 

John turned and smiled. "It's still in testing, only a few agents have it. But Rose is one of them and that helps."

"Are you ready to switch?" Emma asked as John stood. 

"Yeah, we have a crew out on surveillance on the west side, you may need to check in with them periodically. But otherwise there isn't a lot happening tonight."

"That's fine, I have some video to review, it'll keep me busy. When are the new dispatchers going to be ready?" 

"Tomorrow. I've been training them and they're all set. I'll sit with each of them for about a week then they'll take over."

"So no more Doctor?" Emma asked.

John smiled. "I guess not. I suppose we'll see."

John let Emma take her place at the console and wandered back to his desk. The dispatch area was located in the tech department like it had been before, now just more in the open. Since there wasn't activity all the time, the people he had doing it also had other jobs at Torchwood, but were mainly tech people or various others that had similar tasks. 

John sat down to fiddle with a project and wait for Rose. Soon he was deep in concentration. 

Before too long, the tech room door opened and the agents all took off their gear. The difference was that they each stacked it nicely back in the boxes and filtered out, all except for Rose, who sauntered over to John's desk. 

"Hey there? You ready?" she asked, putting her mouth directly next to his ear.

John shivered, but looked up. "Yes I am. Shall we?"

Rose held out a hand and pulled him up. Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. 

"We should celebrate!" he said, "tonight was a momentous occasion?"

"It is?" she asked.

"Yes, as may know, we have hired more dispatchers. Tonight was the last night of the Doctor. Others will have it from here."

'Well that's a little sad," she said, "but I suppose it's a step forward."

"Yes it is, I suppose, so, chips?"

"Chips in bed?" she asked back.

"Your wish is my command," he said, giving her a squeeze.


End file.
